To Our Dreams
by Hagaki 2. Ozuno
Summary: What could possibly happen if Slam Dunk was continued until....? * WARNING* some slight Yaoi starting chapter TWELVE, to name a few, SenRu, MitKo... R&R Please!!!!!* FINISHED* [ the sequel will be posted as a new story, entitled: Heaven? Or Hell on Earth?
1. Default Chapter

Author's note:

Konninchiwa minna!! This is our first fic together!! It's me, Hagaki Ozuno! _And it's me, her elder sister, Minami Ishigami! _

Writing our first SD fanfic!

Hagaki: 'neechan, you're still an amateur! I've written FOUR fanfics already!

_Minami: Shut up bakerou!_

Hagaki: Yare yare. Okay! Hope you enjoy this fic! Even though MY CO-AUTHOR SEEMS LIKE SHE DOESN'T EXIST!!!

_Minami ... -_- Shut up!_

Disclaimer: Slam Dunk doesn't belong to us (Even our beloved Rukawa-kun =(*sniff) It belongs to Takehiko Inoue. NO STEAL!!!

**Chapter one: On this snowy day...**

****

Holding an old group picture, Kogure sighed. He missed his senior high days with his old pals, the whole shohoku basketball team. Specially this Christmas season.

" Kogure?!" Akagi shouted. "Kogure, your next class says you're too late!"

" Oh I forgot Akagi." Kogure said as he placed the picture back on his notebook. "How about you? Don't you have your class today? Your students (=p) may be waiting too."

" No class." he replied, sitting down on his place in the faculty room. "What's that?" He said, pointing on Kogure's notebook.

" A notebook." Kogure said  jokingly.

"No. What I mean is the thing that you placed on your notebook!"

Kogure laughed.

" An old picture of our team." He said as Akagi moved closer to see the picture clearly.

" Hand it over."

" Why? You missed them, don't you...captain?" 

Akagi smiled.

" It's been long before someone called me captain." he said as Kogure handed him the picture.

"I missed our loud, wacky teammates." Kogure laughed harder "And the lumps on your head and Sakuragi when you fight." He stood up and tried to imitate Akagi's voice.

" ALWAYS GET THE REBOUND BAKAYAROU!!!!" he shouted in a deep, loud voice like Akagi when he shouts at Sakuragi.

Then he froze.

The teachers in the faculty suddenly  sweat dropped.

"Kogure-sensei, daijobu ka?"

" Da-daijobu." He said, turning red. He then arranged his things and pretended that nothing happened. 

" I think I better go. My class is waiting." But before he could reach the faculty door, Akagi pulled him back into his place.

" How about this?" he asked, referring to the picture. Kogure smiled yet again.

"You keep it first, ne?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

" Sayonara SENSEI!!!" a group of elementary students shouted.

"Ja!" Ayako replied to her class. 

_(Hagaki: Geez, almost all of them are teachers!)_

_(Minami: Okay fine! Don't disturb me! I'm eating!)_

_(Hagaki: Why you!!! You're just pigging out while I'm draining all of my thoughts in this Fanfic!!!)_

She picked up her things and walked out of the basketball court. There she found Ryota , waiting for her, leaning at the court door.

" Konninchiwa Ryota-sensei!!!" Ayako greeted happily.

" Take the sensei out. " He replied as little sports of pink appeared on his face.

_(Hagaki: Wa! Maybe he likes: Ryota-koibito or Ryota-itooshi better ne?)_

_(Minami: Ganbatte Ryo-chin!!! Someday it'll be Ryota-koi! hehehe...)_

Ayako started giggling. "Why? It suits you very well!"

"Aw c'mon Aya-chan. If you don't stop, I'll be forced to call you Aya-chan-sen- ...no... Ayako-sensei!"

" Ok. I give up. How's your class? Basketball-boy division? The girls are doing quite well."

"Just fine. Watching them makes me remember our team before."

" CAPTAIN RYOTA MIYAGI...hmm...sounds really nice. Been long before I've said that again. Specially saying 'CAPTAIN AKAGI'

meanwhile...

                " Ha-choo!!! Who's talking about me? Or maybe, because of the cold weather, I already catched a cold! " Akagi said, after he sneezed at the corridor, frightening those poor senior high girls and boys. :p

Akagi: Sweat drop*

back...

" Akagi is still the best captain for me. He is the only one that can do his most famous GORILLA DUNK. An-"

" Cut the story first, Ryota." Ayako said. " Looks like the snow is interrupting us."

Ryota looked at the sky. A little drop of snow landed on his face, then followed by heavier showers. It was indeed snowing, as Ayako said.

" Well, let's go now. And the bus should be at the bus stop anytime."

Then, they reached the bus stop, feeling cold, and all.

" Geez...it's so cold." Ayako said, rubbing her hands together. Unfortunately for her, she didn't even bring her jacket. She was just wearing a T-shirt that was only thick enough to stand for slightly cold weathers and jogging pants as thick as her shirt. Ryota pitied her. 

_(Hagaki: Shouldn't this line be "HIS KOIBITO"?)_

_(Minami: Sweat drop*)_

"Here, you could use this." He said, handing over his jacket. He didn't mind being cold, _but if Ayako is the one that would suffer from the cold..._

" But..."

" C'mon. I could stand this weather, don't worry."

"Ryota...Thank you." she said accepting Ryota's sweet and kind offer.

"Ahem* Cut the mushy part will ya? Looks like you didn't saw me!" 

Ryota and Ayako were surprised. They felt the height behind them _seems familiar._

" His height...can it be..."

Ryota turned to face the man.

"AAAA!!! THE HAIR!!!THE COLOR!!! I CAN'T BE MISTAKEN!!! IT'S-IT'S..."

"SAKURAGI HANAMICHI!!!" Ayako continued.

" I thought you forgot me!! I quickly recognized you! You're still small Ryo-chin!! HAHAHA!!!" Sakuragi exclaimed as he clinged his arm on Ryota's head.

"Ha! And you're still the same old Hana-wait...How's your back? Why is your hair long again?"

"My back is fine, Ryo-chin!!! It's fully recovered now! And my hair? Baka! Of course I grew it long again!!!" Ryota laughed.

" I'm so happy to see you again!!" Ayako exclaimed "and I'm also glad to know that you're alright!!!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

" Mitsui..."

" What is it, Anzai-sensei?" Mitsui asked as he went closer to the old fat man, sitting on the bench inside the Shohoku basketball court.

" For the fight tomorrow; even though you're still a coach in training, I allow you to coach Shohoku's practice game with Ryonan."

Mitsui's Eyes widened.

"Really? Coach I-I..."

" Do your best Mitsui-kun."

" Arigato Anzai-sensei!!" Mitsui exclaimed, bowing deeply to his teacher. Coach Anzai laughed as Mitsui ran out of the room.

After changing his clothes and arranging his things, Mitsui, fired-up with Coach Anzai's words, ran his way down to the cold, snowy street. He entered the restaurant Kogure and Akagi usually went to when they were still students in Shohoku Senior High. He took off his jacket reading 'COACH' that was given to him earlier by Coach Anzai.

" Coach Mitsui..." he kept murmuring to himself " show off what you've got tomorrow!"

After giving himself courage, he looked at his watch. 3:59. One minute to go before the bell rings and Akagi and Kogure can go out. He was so excited to tell his friends about the news.

" If only the whole Shohoku team was here, I'd be more excited to report this."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

" Ah...P.E. Teachers eh? So I should call you both 'SENSEI'."

" Wait, Sakuragi -kun, where do you plan to go? Why are you here in the bus station?" Ayako asked curiously.

" Umm...to Shohoku."

" What a coincidence! We plan to go there too!" Ryota exclaimed.

" Huh? Why?"

" Nothing. We just want to." Ayako said.

" We missed the sight already." Ryota added.

Sakuragi smiled mischievously.

" Eh? I don't think so...maybe you really wanted to take her out, you know, a DATE..."

FLYING KICK!*

BOG!*

" STOP THAT WILL YA!!!" Ryota shouted, steaming red. *Good thing Aya-chan didn't hear it. But that's my real intention. -_-*

Ayako, on the other hand, just sweat dropped because she doesn't know what the hell is going on. (BLINK* BLINK*)

" Oh, the bus is here. Stand quickly Hanamichi or you'll be left!"

" Ouch! The small- but- terrible flying-kick of Ryo-chin made my world twirl!!!"

Wobbling a little, Sakuragi stepped inside the bus. Since the bus was full, and there wasn't even a single seat left, they decided to stand.

" Sakuragi-kun, may I ask?" Ayako said. She was in between two former Shohoku members.

"Nani?"

" Since you've graduated last year, what's your job now?" Sakuragi began to think hard.

"So?"

" Umm...I don't have any."

BAG! SWEATDROP

"What do you mean?!" Ryota shouted

" I said I don't have any! Besides, this tensai is made for basketball only. So, the job that I plan to have is JAPAN'S BEST!!!! MWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

SWEATDROP GROWS BIGGER

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

" Konninchiwa, Mitsui-san." Kogure greeted as he settled down the seat opposite Mitsui's.

" Konninchiwa." Mitsui replied. Then he looked at Akagi furiously.

" GEEZ, DO YOU WANT TO KILL YOUR STUDENTS IN YOUR VERY STRONG PERFUME AKAGI?!"

" Shut up!!" Akagi said, a bit red. " The perfume was strong itself! Actually, I sprayed it once only!!!" Mitsui laughed uncontrollably (Well, if you still remember movie 3...) while Kogure giggled. Akagi, embarrassed fully, sat on his seat between Kogure and Mitsui. Then, he spotted someone behind Mitsui...

" I know that guy..."

"Who Akagi?"

Then they all turned around to see a guy wearing a jacket reading "NATIONAL TEAM".

He was tall, about 180+, a brunette, and was white-skinned. After a short while, the guy faced them.

"RUKAWA!!"

Rukawa didn't reply vocally. He just raised his hand as his "HELLO".

Mitsui nearly shouted.

" Oh God! It's really you!! Rukawa! Look at you now!!" Mitsui exclaimed, slapping a hand over his head laughing more. " A REAL national player!!"

Rukawa flushed a little at his former team mate's words.

" Long time no see Rukawa..Er...in personal though." Kogure said welcomly.

" What brought you here?" Akagi asked.

" Nothing." Rukawa frankly said.

" Have a seat here, looks like you're a loner there." Kogure said. Rukawa just nodded as he placed his bag on the blank seat next to Mitsui. When he was about to sit, he noticed Mitsui clutching something tightly on his hand.

"What's that?" he asked.

" Oh this?" Mitsui then looked at the jacket he was holding tightly. He then turned bit red.

"Umm..it's a...umm..." He didn't know exactly how he would say 'I'm a coach already.'

"What's that huh?" Akagi said, looking interested.

" Yeah, what's that?" Kogure asked.

"A..." when Mitsui was about to say it, he noticed a red haired guy hop down from the bus with another man on his side and a woman on the other. Quickly recognizing them

he jumped from his seat and pointed out the window.

"HANAMICHI!! RYOTA!!! AYAKO!!!" he shouted several times louder than he had earlier.

All of the people inside the restaurant sweat dropped and was shocked.

" Hey, shut up will ya!!!" a man behind them said.

Mitsui turned red.

" Looks like a reunion is going to happen..." Kogure said happily. Hanamichi turned to see his friends.

" Mit-chin? Megane-kun? Gori? ...Rukawa?!" Then he spotted Rukawa's dress reading "NATIONAL TEAM". He then burned in anger and charged the seat fiercely, holding (our poor) Rukawa in the collar.

"WHY YOU! IF ONLY MY BACK WASN'T INJURED, I'M SURE THIS TENSAI WOULD BE HIGHER THAN YOU!!! DON'T BE SO COCKY RUKAWA, DAMN IT!!!"

"He-hey! Stop it!!" Kogure said, hoping he would calm the red head. But Sakuragi ignored him and continued his sermon on Rukawa.

"Now I'm back, I'm going to beat you, just like an ant!!!" 

Rukawa had enough. He slapped Sakuragi's hand on his collar and fixed it.

" Don't hold me, do'aho." he said coldly. (way to go Rukawa-kun!!)

" TEME!!!!"

" That's your punishment because you were so selfish."

" WHAT?!" Sakuragi reached to his boiling point and raised up a fist to beat (our poor) Rukawa.

But then, one bounced on his head, leaving a BIIIIG lump.

" Bakayarou!!! Stop that!!"

"G-gori..." he whimpered, holding his lump.

MINNA: SWEAT DROP*

Rukawa stood and picked up his bag.

" Hey, Rukawa-kun, where are you going?" Ayako asked.

" It's almost time before our practice, besides..." he said as he started to walk.

" There's a do'aho around, I don't want to be infected by it's virus."

"Hn. You'll see Rukawa..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

" Where's Rukawa?"

" Ha! I think he visited his old school!!"

" Shohoku senior high?"

" What else?!"

" Speaking of Shohoku, remember when Rukawa was still a freshman there? Remember the basketball team there?"

" Hmm..yeah. Why'd you ask?"

" They have a potential to replace OUR team."

" Huh?"

" Besides, its my last year..."

" What do you mean by that?"

Author's note:

Hagaki: Yatta!!! Chap 1 finished, ne? 'neechan?

Minami: Yare yare. Oh! It means we're off to Chap 2?!

Hagaki: Baka, of course.

Minami: Good! Then, let's do our best!

Hagaki: NANI?! What do you mean OUR?! You're doing nothing!!!!!

( Two authors fight uncontrollably -_-)


	2. The Smile of Victory

Author's note:

(Munch munch...) ( both authors spot readers looking at them and they shoved all of the food aside)

Hagaki: Gomen!!! It's just our snack time, ne? Oneechan?

Minami: Haii!

Hagaki: Here's Chap. 2!!! Mit-chin's the star here!!!!

Minami: But Mit-chin here....

Hagaki: *SHHH!!! LET THEM READ!!!!*

Minami: Okay.

BOTH: OKAERI TO CHAPTER TWO!!!!

**CHAPTER 2: THE SMILE OF VICTORY**

Mitsui entered the Shohoku gym with his heart beating very fast. He sat on the 

bench and restlessly tapped his right foot on the floor...he was thinking...he 

was thinking of what he would do...for today's game...not as a player...but as a 

COACH...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

" NANI?! A COACH?!"

" Yeah..a coach..."

" Omedetou...Mitsui-kun..."

" Mit-chin!!! You're really following Coach Anzai's steps!!!"

" Mitsui-sempai!!! We'll surely watch your game tomorrow!!!"

" An old MVP becomes a coach eh?"

" We wish you luck, Mitsui."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mitsui couldn't believe the things that was happening right now...he felt so 

happy and nervous. 

Then, in all of a sudden...

BLAG!

" AH!!! Mitsui-sensei!! Go-gomen nasai!!!"

Well...Poor Mitsui, while thinking, was hit by the ball that was being used by 

the PRESENT Shohoku members practicing. Not only was he hit painfully on the 

face, his false teeth went flying through the air. -_-

Mitsui stood up and his face...

HAD A BIG BLACK EYE...

His teeth...INCOMPLETE....

" Mi-Mitsui-se-sensei? Da..daijo-daijoubu...? "

Mitsui just nodded and whimpered in pain. (* Both authors laugh like nuts)

" Any way...continue with your practice. We wont lose to Ryonan, UNDERSTOOD?!"

" YES!!!"

Mitsui smiled and picked up his false teeth on the ground. 

" Coach Anzai...I wont lose..."

3:28. Two minutes to go before it starts. People flooded the court, and many of 

them were saying/asking things like "What will happen?" or "Let's see what a 

former MVP can do as a coach."

" Geez, looks like many went to see this game." Mitsui sighed as he looked 

around. Fortunately, the Rukawa Shinetai wasn't there to break his eardrums 

again, Nor the Sakuragi guntai...what? Hey, the Sakuragi guntai's there!

 " Speaking of the saru's." Mitsui said with a sigh as he looked at Youhei's direction.

" Oi!!!Mit-chin!!" Takamiya shouted. " We're here to watch your game!!!"

" Hanamichi and the others will arrive soon." Youhei added. " Do your best Mitsui, or you'll be a big shame."

Mitsui nodded.

"Hey hey! looks like Hanamichi is here!!!" Noma exclaimed.

Sakuragi was indeed there already. The moment he and the others entered the gym, people shouted like crazy.

" THEY'RE BACK!! THE FORMER SHOHOKU BASKETBALL TEAM MEMBERS!!!"

Sakuragi (the EVER do'aho) stepped at the middle of the court waving his hands.

" HAHAHA!!! The Tensai's back!!! The TENSAI'S BAAACK!!!!" 

(*boo...)

" Here he goes again..." Kogure sighed.

" Hey Sakuragi!!! Stop that!!!" Mitsui shouted.

" Mit-chin!!! Do your best or else ojiisan will be mad at you! MWAHAHAHA!!!"

" Urusai!!!!"

" A! I forgot!! I brought here the EVERLASTING fans club of yours."

" Nani...?"

Mitsui turned back and saw a big banner reading "MIT-CHAN THE BEST". His friends were there! Masaka! Mitsui turned white. Those do'aho's will be shouting 'MIT-CHAN' again!!!

"MIT-CHAAAAANNN!!!!!!!!!!" People at the court laughed at the silly (but kawaii) nickname. From white, Mitsui turned super red.

" What the...SHIIINEEE!! Sakuragi!!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

" In a moment, the practice game of Shohoku and Ryonan will start." A woman reported to the crowd.

Mitsui was back at his seat, (his false teeth back at place -_-) tapping his foot restlessly again an the gym floor.

_Okay...calm down..calm down..._

" Ganbatte!!! Mitsui-sempai!!!" Ayako shouted.

" We're just here to cheer for you and support you!!!" Ryota added.

" Thanks! Yoshi! I'll do my best! Just wait!"

The referee whistled as a signal that the game will start. "LINE UP!"

Red team: Shohoku

White team: Ryonan

The members lined up and bowed, then took their positions. Jump ball. Shohoku's new center, still number four, got it and passed it to the number fifteen, the new point guard. The defense of Ryonan's point guard to the number fifteen was too tight, so he decided to pass it to their shooting guard, number eight, who was at the three-point line. Number eight didn't waste this opportunity. The one that was guarding him had a low defense. He tossed the ball and scored a three-pointer.

" Nice!!!" Mitsui exclaimed at the number eight.

" Ne...Mit-chin, did you trained that number eight? His three-pointer looks a lot like yours." Sakuragi asked.

" Yup." Mitsui said proudly.

" Wait a sec, I almost forgot to ask this question...if Mitsui is coaching Shohoku, then who is caoching at Ryonan?" Ryota asked.

" Umm..." They all shifted their attention at Ryonan's bench. The coach was holding a notebook...on the other a ball pen that he was clicking restlessly. It was...

" Masaka!"

" Hi-Hikoichi?!"

" I forgot to tell you that. Gomen ne!" Mitsui said.

The game was still running. Ryonan scored. 3-2. Shohoku was one point ahead. Mitsui decided he'll make a move later. For now, he'll let his members, specially the point guard, do the rest.

Number fifteen has the ball. " Let's score!" he exclaimed to his team mates. Shohoku members nodded. He passed it to the small forward, number eleven. Number eleven made a good fake and passed it onto number eight who was, again, at the three-point line. He tossed the ball, but he was a bit distracted with the guard in front of him.

" Rebound!" Players crowded under the basket aiming for the rebound. 

" Oh, let's see who is Sakuragi's descendant." Kogure said with a chuckle.

Ryonan's number thirteen almost caught the rebound, but amazingly, Shohoku's number ten jumped higher than him and caught it. The former Shohoku team members were amazed.

" That number ten's rebound was just like Hanamichi's!!!" Takamiya shouted.

' You're right! The only thing is, that guy has a decent face while Hanamichi's face is a disaster..." Noma said giggling. 

" URUSAI!!!"

Number ten passed it again to number fifteen. Number fifteen passed it to number eleven and number eleven made a jump shot. The score was 5-2.

Hikoichi looked confident on his seat. He opened his notebook and shouted ' Yo checkuya!' and started to write things on it.

"  Number four...center ...number fifteen... a great point guard...Number eight...three-point sharp shooter...number ten...rebounder...number eleven...hm..lets see...he hasn't made much moves yet except his jump shot a while ago. This game seems interesting..." he said, flames surrounding him.

_(Hagaki: Those players whose numbers are said like " number eleven", those are shohoku members.)_

_(Minami: While the ones said like " number 11", those are Ryonan members.)_

He winked at all of his players and the players winked back. It's Ryonan's turn now. Number 9, Ryonan's point guard, has the ball. Number 7 was waving his hand high in the air, which was a trick. Shohoku members thought that Number 9 will pass it to number 7, so they tightened their defense on number 7 and lost concentration on the other members. Mitsui read their tactic and quickly stood up.

"No! Don't tighten your defense on that number 7!!! That's a trick!!" 

But it was too late. Number 9 passed it to the now free number 5 and number 5 made a three-pointer. 5-5. it was a tie. Mitsui sat  back.

_ Hn. That's just a three-pointer and its just a tie. We can beat you, Ryonan. I  promised coach Anzai I'll win this game no matter what!_

" Guys! Show them what we're made of!!" Mitsui exclaimed.

" HAII!!" 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Last one minute before halftime. Score: 29-31. Ryonan had a 2 point lead. It was all because of that number 7 and 5's combinations. 

Number fifteen has the ball now. He was about to shoot when in all of a sudden, Number 9 jumped in front of him , trying to block the ball.

" Ha! Now you can't shoot!"

" Who said?" Number fifteen passed the ball under number 9 to number eleven and number eleven made a fantastic lay-up shot.

It was a tie yet again. The students inside the gym cheered louder. The referee blew his whistle and shouted 'half time'. 

" Nice play everyone." Mitsui said. " But don't be fooled by the combination of that number 7 and number 5! I have a plan, come closer so that you can hear clearly..."

After whispering something, Shohoku ( Present) members' faces brightened. it just signifies that they liked their coach's tactic. Mitsui smiled. Now they'll show Ryonan that it's a bad thing that they showed their tactic to them.

At the Ryonan's part, Hikoichi was explaining how they would do their defense against that number eleven, fifteen and eight.

"...you must follow our plan so that everything will turn out perfectly, understood?"

" Yes!"

The referee blowed his whistle again as a sign that the game continues. 

Number fifteen passed it to number ten and number ten passed it to number eight. The moment the ball reached number eight, number 7 and 9 double teamed him. 

Number ten waved his hand high in the air.

" Hn, You copycats. We know that tactic already coz it is ours!" Number five said boastfully. He then gave his attention to number fifteen  who was on the three point line and his slight to number ten. But then, unfortunately for Ryonan, number eight followed number ten's order. He passed it to him and number ten made a jump shot. 

"What the-?!" 

Mitsui was just on the bench, calmly wearing his victory smile, looking at the Ryonan's direction.

" So much for the MVP coach ne?" he said boastfully to himself.

" MIT-CHAAAAAN!!!!! SUGOOOOOOIIIIII!!!! MIT-CHAAAAAN!!!!" Mitsui's victory smile turned to a disgusted look. 

" STOP THAT!!!!" He shouted.

" Mitsui-san is really good." Hikoichi said. " But that doesn't mean that we'll lose."

Number 9 has the ball and passed it to number7. Number 7 pretended to pass the ball to the right, and he suceeded in fooling number fifteen. But number eleven was quick. He read the move and seized the ball. He suceeded and ran towards the goal and stopped at the three-point line and shot a three-pointer. It was in! 

" K'so! K'so! I knew that number eleven had the talent!"

Rukawa passed by the Shohoku gym. He wasn't wearing his 'NATIONAL TEAM' jacket, maybe because if he did, people will crowd around him. He was just in a plain blue t-shirt and jeans with a baseball hat as a disguise. He entered the gym using the back door because the front door was crowded. He then spotted the score. 39-33. Oh well, this doesn't look like a good game to watch. He was about to leave when he saw the new number eleven shot a Slam dunk that made the audience's hearts amused. He sensed thet number eleven was good. Okay, this will be a bit good.

He walked slowly towards the Shohoku bench, afraid that someone might recognize him and suddenly jump on him.When he reached the place, he tapped Kogure's shoulder. Kogure looked back and almost shouted 'RUKAWA!', but he quickly saw Rukawa make the silent sign. He quickly understood and just kept his mouth shut.

At the end of the game, Shohoku won. 46-39. Mitsui was extremely happy. First time i his life that he won not as a player but a coach. The Shohoku team celebrated humbly while T Ryonan accepted defeat graciously. 

" Mitsui-san, thank you for the nice game. Next time, we'll win!" Hikoichi said as he shook hands with the former MVP.

" That's nothing Hikoichi. But I admit that you're a good coach. You gave me a hard time."

" Until then Mitsui- san. ja!"

" Ja!" Mitsui and the whole shohoku team exclaimed.

After dismissing his players, Mitsui decided to have a victory party with his former team mates. Where else? At their favorite restaurant just near Shohoku. Kogure told Mitsui that Rukawa came to watch the game. He also said that Rukawa quickly left after the game. Rukawa said he still needed to practice for their upcoming games. Oh well, it would be more fun if all of the main members were all present. But, they couldn't blame Rukawa for that. 

" I couldn't wait to say this to coach Anzai!!!" Mitsui exclaimed, standing, tossing the jacket reading coach high up to the air.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Author's note:

Hagaki: Way to go Mit-chin!!! 

Minami: Sugoi! Sugoi !

Hagaki: Well, we like to apologize for the fight part. Since this scene wasn't really important, we decided not to put names on them.

Minami: Gomen!!!

Hagaki: Oh well, we're off to chap. 3!!!! 

Minami: Just wait there!!

Both: Please!!!R&R!!!


	3. Unbelievably True

Hagaki: (listening to soft music)Hagaki: (listening to soft music) 

Minami: OI!!!! Let's finish Chapter three!!!!

Hagaki: (pop!) Na-nani? Oh, yeah, chapter three!

Minami: You should pay attention, pigtailed neko postcard!!!

Hagaki: URUSAI BAKA!!!!

Minami: Hmp!

Hagaki: To all readers and reviewers, my sister and I like to thank you!!!

Minami: We would also like to apologize for those who like Sakuragi...

Hagaki: We're really sorry because...

BOTH: WE L-O-V-E RUKAWA!!!!!

Happy reading!

Disclaimer: Slam dunk and its characters doesn't belong to us. we are just 

borrowing them. NO STEAL!!!!

Chapter 3: Unbelievably true

" ORE WA TENSAAAAIIIIII...BASUUUKE TO MAAAN!!!!" Sakuragi sang happily. He 

decided to pay Akagi and Kogure a visit. He reached the faculty room and banged 

the door open. Shocked and curious faces looked at him. He searched for Akagi 

and Kogure but they weren't there. He then approached a woman teacher who was 

only up to his waist.

" Wha-what do you want mister?" the woman asked.

" Tell me, miss, were is Gori and Megane-kun...oh, I mean, Akagi and Kogure?"

" Akagi-sensei and Kogure-sensei? The-they have their classes..."

" Classes huh? Oh well...tell them that a TENSAI BASKETBALL MAN visited them 

here okay?"

" Te-Tensai...Basketball man...?"

Sakuragi left the room and continued to sing his (UGHH... SO UGLY) song.

".... DAIJOUBUUUUU!!!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

" Ten-tensai...basketball man..." Akagi said, looking very disgusted. Kogure 

giggled.

" Well, there's no doubt that's Sakuragi."

" That baka saru..."

"Anyway...we like to apologize. We didn't remind him that such thing isn't 

allowed." Kogure said, bowing slightly at the woman. The woman smiled.

" Sakuragi Hanamichi...It's been a long time before I saw you again..."

The woman was the manager of the national team, Hijisawa Akane. She visited 

Shohoku today because she wanted to talk to Akagi and Kogure. But now, now that 

she knew that Sakuragi was still meeting them, she has three persons now to talk 

with.

" By the way, Hijisawa-san, why are you here?" Akagi asked.

" Almost all of our players are old and weakening, some decided to quit. So, we 

decided to get new one to replace them."

" You mean-"

" Yes, we decided that the both of you would be a member of our team."

Akagi and Kogure couldn't believe what they heard. They would be members of the 

national team?

" But our original plan was to recruit all of the stating members of Shohoku..."

" Of course you can! Oh...I mean...of course you can."

" I already know how to recruit Sakuragi Hanamichi, but how about Hisashi Mitsui 

and Ryota Miyagi? '

" That's easy. Follow us..."

Akagi and Kogure escorted Akane towards the gym were Mitsui was with his 

students and Coach Anzai.

" Mitsui!! Come here!!" Akagi shouted. Mitsui turned around and spotted his two 

friends with a woman at their side. What could it be now?

" Anzai-sensei..."

" Go now, Mitsui-kun."

" Haii!"

He ran towards them. I hope it's not something else...

" Mitsui, this is Hijisawa Akane-san."

" Konninchiwa." Akane greeted.

" Konninchiwa." Mitsui replied.

" Hijisawa-san is here to recruit all starting members of the former basketball 

team of Shohoku for the national team."

" NANI?!" Mitsui said, looking very shocked.

" That counts you, Miyagi, me, Kogure, and even Sakuragi."

Mitsui nearly cried for joy.

"I...am a member...of the national...team...?" he stammered. " I...am...I 

AM!!!!!" he exclaimed loud enough to catch everyone's attention. Kogure smiled. 

He understood what he was feeling. It was really happy to hear that they will 

all go to the national team.

" I...will be a member of the national team?" Ryota asked, having the exact 

expression Mitsui had earlier.

" Ryota!! I'm happy for all of you!!!" Ayako exclaimed.

" AYA-CHAAAN!!!!! I'M A NATIONAL PLAYER!!!!!! HAHAHA!!!!" he said as he tried to 

steal a hug from Ayako. But the, she slapped him with her ALMIGHTY fan.

" No touchy." She said.

Sakuragi spotted all of them rejoicing at the school were Ayako and Miyagi were 

teaching. He quickly ran into them.

" Hey, what the hell is happening here?" He asked. He saw Ryota and Mitsui with 

their baggy eyes and smiles that reached their ears.

" Hanamichi..."

" Sakuragi..."

Sakuragi (CHIBI) blinked twice.

" Nani? Both of you look stupid."

"WERE ALL NATIONAL PLAYERS!!!" Both of them shouted.

" That includes you, Sakuragi Hanamichi." Ayako said.

Sakuragi dropped his bag. He was a national player! But, how could that be? 

Well, he'll just ask later. In the meantime, he stared at the blue sky and 

allowed the sunlight touch his face. He then opened his eyes and shouted loudly.

" AT LAST! I AM A NATIONAL PLAYER!!! IAM A NATIONAL PLAYER !!! I AM REALLY A 

TENSAIIIIII!!!!"

But then, from behind, a figure was watching them with envy. 

" Those Shohoku brats! Who do they think they are?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rukawa sat at the park bench and looked at the basketball he was holding. After 

all of these years playing at the Japan team, he already has forgotten his dream 

of going to America. Nah, who cares? America? No. Forget America. He felt 

contented playing for Japan. Now this was also one of the reasons why coach 

Anzai didn't approve his decision of going to America. If ever he did, he 

wouldn't feel this happiness and contentment playing for his own country.

He stood up and rode on his bike. Where was he going? He felt going back to the 

national gym where he was practicing. The wind seemed like it was driving him to 

that place. 

" Oi Rukawa! Are you excited to see your old team mates?" 

Rukawa ignored him and continued to walk towards the locker room as if no one 

spoke to him.

" Look at that attitude..."

" Let him be. He's really like that.

After changing into him practice uniform, he picked up a ball and started 

dribbling it.

I'm playing as a national player...I play for my country...I play for my 

dignity...

He repeated this words to himself. He saw this sentence at a daily sports 

magazine. This sentence struck him straight to the heart. He reflected. What was 

his purpose of playing basketball? Does he really have a goal?

And then, he ran towards the goals and slam-dunked the ball. He didn't let go of 

the ring. He was just hanging there.

I play simply for fun and excitement...

The thought arrested him. But still, this wasn't his final answer.

What's my reason of playing?

" Hey, Rukawa. If you do that in a real game, you'll be called for a technical 

foul."

Rukawa finally let go off the ring. He picked the ball up and started to dribble 

it again. 

" What's wrong with him? He seems different."

" You can say that again."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

" So where are we going now, Hijisawa-san?" asked Kogure as they followed Akane 

walking across the street.

" I'll bring you to our gym. The NATIONAL gym to be exact." Akane replied.

" What would we do there?" Ryota asked.

" Yeah, would we fight with someone there?" Mitsui asked.

" mm... not exactly." Akane replied. " But it's near there. You'll just see."

Former members exchange questioning looks. Akagi sighed, Kogure shrugged, Ryota 

looked up as if he was thinking, Mitsui's eyebrows met, Sakuragi folded his arms 

and Ayako blinked twice. What will this woman do to us?

Ryota thought...(cloud pops out) (Chibi)

Akane punishes each one of them using a whip and laughs like a devil while 

Rukawa's at the corner with a happy looking Ayako...

Ryota shivered. That can't be.

Mitsui thought...(cloud pops out) (chibi)

Akane shouts at them forcing them to shoot a million jump shots and 3-pointers. 

Rukawa stood at the side teasing them and telling them, they're nothing...

Mitsui turned REALLY white. Nope, nope, NOPE!!! 

Sakuragi thought...(cloud pops out) (chibi)

Akane leads them to a library and lets them read all of the books in there while 

girls and EVEN Haruko were crowding Rukawa.

Sakuragi's head seemed to boil. THAT CAN'T BE!!!

Ryota, Mitsui and Sakuragi seems like they're really mad now. Fire surrounded 

them like crazy.

Minna: Sweat drop*

" Looks like they're heating up already...ahahaha..." Kogure said as the sweat 

drop on his head grew bigger.

" *SIGH* what will I do to these Baka's?" Akagi said, looking very ashamed. 

Akane stopped in front of a very big gym. (we mean VERY) She knocked on the 

door.

" This is Akane, Open up."

The door opened and a guy, about 190+, greeted them.

" Come in. We're really waiting for you." After letting everyone enter, the guy 

closed the door and whispered something to Akane. Akane, after hearing what the 

guy whispered, gave an okay-fine-look.

Sakuragi examined the place. So, this is what the national gym looked like. It 

was big. It looked almost like a real court. As he was looking around, he 

spotted a familiar guy looking at their direction. It was Rukawa. His face had 

no expression. He was silent, as usual.

Hahaha...we're here Rukawa... Ryota thought

You can't laugh at us now...Mitsui thought 

You cold-blooded Kitsune...now lets see who will be the heart rob of all girls 

and the real koibito of Haruko-san! Sakuragi thought.

Death-glares were thrown on Rukawa. Question marks appeared on his head.

" Do'aho's" he whispered.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

" Hey, did you know that Hanamichi's a national player now?" Yohei said.

" Oooh! That's new!!" Takamiya, Noma and Okusu exclaimed with disbelief.

" You guys. We should have faith in Hanamichi even sometimes you know." Yohei 

said, smiling.

" Yes." a woman said. The Sakuragi-guntai turned. Then, their eyes widened.

" Haruko-san?!"

Haruko smiled at the Sakuragi-guntai.

" Do you want me to bring you guys there?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Author's note:

Hagaki: Whew! Finished!

Minami: Chapter four comin' right up!!!

Both: Ja! Minna!!!!


	4. The First Smile

Author's note: 

Hagaki: Konninchiwa minna!! This is Chapter four!!

Minami: Hope you'll like this one!!!

Hagaki: Gomen to all Sakuragi fans...Again.

Minami: hehehehe

**Chapter 4: The First Smile**

****

" Welcome, former team members of the Shohoku basketball team. I'm Nobuhiro Oda, the National Team's captain."

" Thank you very much, Nobuhiro-san." Kogure greeted bowing his head slightly. Mitsui, Ryota, Ayako,  and Akagi bowed too.

" C'mon!!! Let's start playing!!! I'll beat everyone on this court, EVERYONE YOU HEAR ME?!"

Akagi punched Sakuragi on the head.

" Shut up!! Oh ~ I'm terribly sorry for the noise, Nobuhiro-san" Akagi apologized, looking really ashamed.

" That's nothing. Actually, we really planned to have a game with you today."

Everyone was shocked.

" TODAY?!!"

" Yup. Today. This is because we want to see if you can still play basketball or not."

Oda walked towards the middle of the court as if he was an announcer.

" Everyone, the game will start a few minutes from now. For the groupings...Masaki, Ryo, Toshiro, Yuji, Mikatsu, and I are team A. For team B, Akagi, Miyagi, Mitsui, Kogure, Sakuragi...and Rukawa."

Rukawa threw a death glare at Nobuhiro. Nobuhiro spotted him but just ignored him.

" For the team B, you could use the spare practice dresses at the locker room opposite ours. The game will start after 10 minutes."

At the locker room, Sakuragi was looking at the spare practice dresses neatly folded beside the lockers. He was looking for a shirt numbered 10. Ryota was already warming up, so is Akagi, Mitsui and Rukawa.

" I can't believe I'm playing with you guys again." Rukawa said with a grin.

' Hn. Don't be so cocky Rukawa or else, I'll lose my temper and I'll punch you!" Mitsui exclaimed.

" He's right. We're not yet rusted ya know!" Ryota added.

" HAHAHAHA!!!" Everybody looked at Hanamichi's direction having the same Not-Again-Look at their faces.

" Nothing to worry about everyone. The tensai's at you're side!!!"

" Okay fine..."

" Yare yare."

" Masaka..."

" Do'aho."

After changing their clothes, they all lined up at the middle of the court. The starting members were: Akagi, Miyagi, Mitsui, Rukawa, and Sakuragi. 

" The game will start now!" The referee shouted.

Jump ball. Akagi got the jump ball. Ryota quickly catched it and ran towards the goal. Ryo, the team A's point guard, was guarding him pretty well.

" How about it, Miyagi? Are you rusted already?"

" Urusai!!"

Ryota escaped smoothly from Ryo but then, Mikatsu seized the ball.

" Too bad. Your concentration is too low."

" Fast break!!!" Ryo exclaimed. Mitsui was guarding Mikatsu. He followed him until they reached the three-point line of their goal. 

" C'mon former MVP. Oh, my mistake, you're a coach now right?"

" You better concentrate than talking!!" Mikatsu jumped and threw the ball. he then spotted Mitsui smiling. He didn't even dare to move a muscle. He (Mikatsu) thought his three- pointer would be a success, but then...

" You're dreaming!!!" Shouted Sakuragi as he blocked the ball. Mikatsu was shocked. Rukawa caught the ball and ran towards their goal.

" AAAA!!! WHO SAID YOU WILL GET MY HARD WORKED BLOCK?!!" Sakuragi shouted.

" Damn. Now Rukawa, our ace player, has the ball. This will be tough." Ryo said.

Nobuhiro was guarding Akagi. Akagi couldn't make a move because of Nobuhiro.

" What's the matter Akagi? You sleepy? Or are you rusted?"

" Hmp. You'll see...Rukawa!! Pass!!"

Rukawa looked at Akagi. No, he can't pass to Akagi. Nobuhiro is one of the best players he has seen. Then, in all of a sudden, he spotted Masaki at his front. Oh, this is another one. Masaki is the best one when it comes to defense.

He then spotted Ryota who is free. Ok. This will be a fake. He moved to the left and succeeded in faking Masaki. He then made a Fade-away-three-pointer .

_(Hagaki: Isn't this too much? Minami: Nope, Not at all)_

It was in!!!

" Rukawa! Rukawa! L-O-V-E Rukawa!!! Love me! Love me! Rukawa!!" cried the Rukawa Shinetai.

" When did they get here?" Ryota said.

Minna: Sweatdrop*

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*

" Aren't we there yet?" Noma asked, looking exhausted.

" We're here." Haruko said as they entered the gym. The Sakuragi-guntai was shocked. The gym was enormous. They then took a seat and watched the game.

" Looks like the National Team gives them a hard time." Youhei said.

 Score: 30-31. In favor of team A. Mikatsu made yet another three-pointer, quickly followed by Nobuhiro's lay-up and Ryo's jump shot. Score: 30-38. But the game isn't over yet, Mitsui scored a lay-up shot (which is extraordinary for him to do), so is Ryota. Score: 34-38. Four points to go.

" Phew, The former Shohoku team gives us a hard time. And then there's Rukawa, that doubles our hard time." Ryo said, wiping the sweat that was rolling down on his cheek. 

Sakuragi felt hot again. He hasn't scored any, thanks to that Toshiro guy that was guarding him. He wasted 4 points because of the first-class guarding of Toshiro.

" OI! Give me a break will ya! Let me shoot!"

" Baka. Of course, I can't. You're our opponent."

" Sakuragi Hanamichi!!! Don't lose your concentration!!!" Ayako shouted from the bench. 

" Sakuragi-kun!!! Ganbatte!!" Haruko shouted from her seat.

" Ha-Haruko-san!!!"

" Hanamichi!!" Ryota passed the ball to Sakuragi. Sakuragi caught the ball and prepared for a jump shot.( Which was a fake) But then, Toshiro read his moves and wasn't deceived by Sakuragi's fake. Sakuragi once more (pretended to) faked, and stupid Toshiro thought that it was another fake again, so he didn't dodged. But then, he saw that Sakuragi threw the ball. 

"It's too far for a jump shot, Baka!!" Mitsui shouted.

" Who said it was a jump shot?" Akagi caught the ball and slam-dunked it at the ring. everyone was shocked.

" Nice pass, Sakuragi." Akagi said, patting Sakuragi's head.

Score: 36-38. Okay, one more. Ryo dribbled the ball and passed it on Mikatsu, then on Toshiro, then on Nobuhiro, who made a fantastic lay-up shot. 36-40. The gap increased again.

Ryota dribbled the ball and passed it on Rukawa. There's still time. 30 seconds to go. Masaki guarded him again, and now, his guard was tougher than before. Rukawa can't shoot.

" Rukawa, don't force yourself!! Pass!!" Ryota shouted.

No choice. He passed it to Ryota. Before he could shoot, Sakuragi made a give-it-to-me-sign. Then he saw Sakuragi's condition. He was free because Ryo and Toshiro were guarding him. He made a fake and passed it to the now restless Sakuragi, who made a jump-shot. 38-40. 10 seconds left.

Ryo now has the ball. But, before he could move, Ryota seized the ball.

" It's our show time now, buddy." he said with a smile.

He then passed it to Mitsui on the three-point line. Mitsui was unable to shoot though, he lose his grip on the ball. Good thing Rukawa was there to catch it.

5..4..3...2...he threw the ball. It was a three-pointer.1. . It was IN!!! 0...

Shohoku members jumped for joy. They beated the National Team!!!

" AAA!!!! Rukawa! Rukawa!!! L-O-V-E Rukawa!!!" cried the Rukawa-shinetai.

" We did it!!! We did it!!"

" Rukawa!!! Nice play!!!" Akagi said as he clinged hi arm on Rukawa's head.

Rukawa never felt so happy after a long time. He missed this atmosphere so much. The cheerful atmosphere of his teammates. Unlike his present teammates in the National team.

Haruko and the Sakuragi-guntai ran to Ayako, who took out her camera and took a picture of this happy scene. Then she saw Rukawa having a different expression...

He did something he never EVER did before...

_He...smiled..._

Ayako nearly dropped her camera. 

Rukawa, for the first time in the world history, smiled. His set of perfect white teeth displayed, his face looked brighter than ever. A small dimple was seen on his right cheek. He was so adorable. (both authors faint*)

Then, everyone looked at him. Everyone looked at him, jaws dropped, eyes wide. The cleaners dropped the ball. Haruko and the Rukawa-shinetai fainted because they saw the cutest face of Rukawa. It was so silent in all of a sudden.

Rukawa then noticed shocked eyes looking on him. 

" Wha-what did you just...did...Rukawa...?"

" You..._smiled_...?"

" Of course I did. I'm human. I can smile, do'aho."

Later on, when the court was fully cleaned, Nobuhiro shook hands with Akagi.

" Nice play, Akagi."

" Thank you."

" Well, all of you now are formally called " NATIONAL PLAYERS". Congratulations." The National team Members clapped and cheered for their new members. Akagi and the others rejoiced.

" But......you still need to do 'OUR' basics because you're new. Understood?"

" Yes, we understand."

Nobuhiro smiled.

" Well, the one who will instruct you is Rukawa."

" NANI?!!!!!"

" Why me?" 

Sakuragi, Mitsui, and Ryota flared in anger. They remembered the things that they were thinking of a while ago. ( the cloud thingy-thingy) Rukawa stood in front of them and yawned.

" Training lower class...how stupid..."

" Nani?!" Ryota shouted

" Shut up Rukawa!!!" Mitsui exclaimed.

" Teme!!! Shineee!!! Kitsune!!!"

" Hn. Too cocky." Akagi said.

Kogure sweatdropped.

Rukawa sighed.

" Well, what can I do?" He the opened the door and revealed a park circle outside.

" 30 laps." he said.

" What the-"

" Thrity?!"

" Don't complain. That's just easy."

Nobuhiro approached them.

" Join them Rukawa so that you'll be practiced too."

" Fine."

Sakuragi, Mitsui, and Ryota sticked out their tongue.

Later, they were already at the circle, running. They have completed 20 laps. Everyone looked exhausted, except for Rukawa, who was yawning, as if he was just walking. (but he's running, mind you)

" Ten...huff...more...puff..." Mitsui said, nearly fainting.

" Just...hold...on..." Ryota whispered.

" This...is too...much..." Sakuragi said, knees almost on the floor.

" When will we stop..." Akagi asked

' Can...we...have a break...?" Kogure said.

After finishing their 30 laps, they rested for a while. Rukawa, on the other hand, was playing with a practice game with his teammates.

" So..this is the basics..." Mitsui said, lying on the floor.

" So...tiring..." Ryota added.

" K'so!! Look at him!!! He's full of energy!!! Are you willing to be dumped by him?" Sakuragi exclaimed.

" Of course NO!!!" The two shouted, eyes on flames.

Rukawa then spotted them, looking as if they regained their stamina.

" Let's start again. 60 jump shots." he said.

" SIXTY?!"

" NO!! WE WON'T FOLLOW YOU!!!!" the three shouted.

" Oh well." Rukawa then called their captain and they switched places in training.

Nobuhiro smiled at them.

" Okay, I'll train you now." he said.

" Thank God..." the three said, sighing.

" Yoshi!! 60 laps on the court.

Everyone turned to stone.

" Aaa...where's Rukawa?" Kogure asked.

( Authors: Sweatdrop*)

" Now you better listen or else I'll call Captain again." Rukawa said.

" 60 jump shots." he repeated, pointing at the court. Akagi and Kogure followed his order, but the three didn't.

" I said 60 jump shots, do'aho's."

" No..."

" ...we..."

"...won't..."

Rukawa sighed and called for Ayako's help. 

" Guys, Rukawa said do 60 jump shots."

Ryota quickly jumped up and ran to the court and followed Akagi and Kogure.

" One down, three to go." Rukawa said.

" OI!! SAKURAGI HANAMICHI AND HISASHI MITSUI!!! GET UP AND DO THE 60 JUMP SHOTS!!!" Ayako shouted.

" No..."

"...way..."

Rukawa had enough and grabbed Ayako's fan and slapped the two heavily.

" Go to the court and do 60 jump shots before I call Captain again." He said, returning Ayako's fan. Ayako blinked twice.

Later...Mitsui and Sakuragi were forced to do 60 jump shots, followed by 20 laps at the gym (all of them), basic dribbling, passing...etc.

After the "BASICS" :p , Everyone lied at the floor, sweaty and out of breath. And then tomorrow, the "BASICS" will be repeated... again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*

Author's note:

Hagaki: Ah!!! Rukawa-san smiled!!!

Minami: *faints*

Hagaki: Please read Chapter five!!!

Minami: And also, please reply!!!

Hagaki: Thanks for all those who replied!!!!

BOTH: ARIGATO GOZAIMASU, MINNA!!!!!!!!!


	5. The Black Wrapper Gift

Author's note: 

Hagaki: Konninchiwa Minna-san!!!! Here's chappy 5!!!

Minami: Sorry, it took a while. There's so much schoolwork.

Hagaki: We would like to answer some who reviewed.

Both: Here it is!!!!

(Note: Hagaki is the only one answering these reviews because Minami is too busy)

Shinomori no Kami Daiji: Hahaha!!!! What happened? Rukawa saw me!! Just joking. Nope. Nothing happened while he was in the national team. Read this chapter and you'll know why. And, what's the meaning of Beta-read? ;p

Tensaispira: Yup. They're really poor. Mit-chan's the poorest here...oops!

To all Sakuragi fans: Waahh!!! Don't be mad at me!!! I just LOVE Rukawa-san!!!! To be true, I hate...Sa-ku-ra-g-never mind...

There you have it! For the others, maybe I'll answer you on the b\next chapters. Bye bye!!!! SANKYUUU!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: SD and its characters don't belong to me. Takehiko-sensei does. NO STEAL!!!!!!!

**Chapter 5: The Black Wrapper Gift**

****

" What a day." Mitsui said, holding his head. Today was their 3rd day being a national player, but still, they haven't fought other teams. He was slightly getting used to the so-called " BASICS" of the national team, but being a low-stamina person, he often collapses during practice.

While he was walking in the low-lighted way towards their house, he spotted a man around his age and a bit taller than him. Mitsui, quite shocked in the man's appearance, stopped on his tracks. He then looked at the man curiously, but he wasn't able to see the man clearly because the place was dark.

" Hi." the man greeted. His voice was nice. It seems like this man was an innocent one, probably like Kogure. : p

Mitsui looked even more confused. Who was this man, suddenly blocking his way, and then saying hi?

" Hey, who are you? Have we met before?" Mitsui asked, taking another step to have a better look at the man.

" Nope, but I know you...Hisashi Mitsui, jersey number 14 when he was in the Shohoku basketball team, shooting guard, 184 cm tall, 70 kg, birth date: May 22. Former MVP in junior high, now a coach, and at the same time, a national player." The man said with a smile.

" Who are you anyway?" Mitsui said a bit irritated. He does not want anybody who doesn't have a relationship with him know his personal data.

The man walked closer to the now very confused three-point sharp shooter.

" Tamura Itoe."

Suddenly, Mitsui felt someone punch his chest. It was so strong that his sight went black...

" The others will follow you too." Mitsui managed to hear before totally losing consciousness...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ryota, as usual, was escorting his precious Aya-chan to their house again. But he wasn't on his usual jumpy mood. He was walking as if he drank 10 cases of beer, stomped by elephants, and punched by a dozen of gorillas (Akagi didn't though: p).

" Aya-chan..." he said groggily.

" Nani?" Ayako asked, facing the drunken-like Ryota Miyagi beside her.

" Nothing." Ryota said with a smile. * Seeing Aya-chan adds up to my adrenaline. *

As they were walking, they noticed a familiar person lying at the ground. Black hair, a bit tall...it's...

" Mitsui!!!"

" Sempai!!!"

They ran towards Mitsui and helped him to stand up.

" Sempai, daijobu ka?" Ayako asked a worried expression traced on her face.

" Oi!!! Mitsui!! Wake up! Wake up!" Ryota exclaimed, panicking. 

Mitsui opened his eyes slowly. The pain was killing him so much that he only managed to see colors, not clear pictures. He then looked at his chest. It was bleeding! He wasn't punched after all. He was stabbed, approximately 3 inches from his heart, by a somewhat blade by that...who was that? Who was that guy again?

" Mitsui-sempai!!! You're bleeding badly!!! Ryota!!! Let's rush him to the hospital! Faster or he'll die!!" Ayako exclaimed, her tears forming in her eyes.

" Hold on Mitsui, please. We'll get there and save you in no time." Ryota said as he carried the taller boy to the nearest hospital. He didn't mind the pain he had while he was practicing. What's important now is to save Mitsui's life. He needs to go as fast as he could, or else...

At a near hospital, two authors, namely D@gger and A. Pikachu, were talking before the nurse station. : p

" I heard that Akagi Takenori, Miyagi Ryota, Mitsui Hisashi, Kogure Kiminobu, and Sakuragi Hanamichi are national players now." D@gger reported happily to A. Pikachu.

" Wow!!! I'm happy for them...that's a nice advanced gift for Christmas...

                Hey...Have you watched _Gensomaden Saiyuki_ last night? Hakkai-san is soooooooooo cute!!!" D@gger sweat dropped.

" You and Hagaki are the same, drooling over the same guys. SIGH*" 

_(Hagaki: Ha! But they're all mine! A. Pikachu doesn't like Rukawa, so he's mine!!! All mine!!!)_

_(Minami: Ah...can we go back to the story?)_

Just then, their friend, a doctor/author, named Hagaki Ozuno, and her sister, with the same occupation, named Minami Ozuno-Ishigami, was running in the hallway, their high-heeled shoes clicking. Behind them was a rolling emergency bed, which was pushed swiftly by their nurses.

" An emergency?" A. Pikachu and D@gger asked in unison.

" CLEAR THE WAY!!! EVERYBODY, PLEASE CLEAR THE WAY!!!!" Hagaki exclaimed, waving her hands in the air.

" Aaah...isn't that?"

The two authors looked closely at the figure lying at the rolling bed. It was Mitsui, gasping for air. Beside him running was Ryota and Ayako, looking worried, saying things like " Hold on." or "Don't die".

After they disappeared in sight, the two authors were left open mouthed.

" What the hell happened to them?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

" Haii, this is Akagi Takenori, may I help-what?! Mitsui's in critical condition?! Why?! Yes...yes...ye-WHAT?! Where are you now? Calm down Miyagi. I'll call the others and inform what happened. We'll go there right away. You should also call his parents. Okay." Akagi placed the phone back hurriedly and grabbed his jacket and shoes.

" Oni-chan? What's wrong? Why are you in a hurry?' Haruko asked curiously, spotting her tall brother tying his shoes as quickly as possible.

" It's an emergency." He said, slipping his jacket on.

" What emergency?" 

" Mitsui's been stabbed by someone unknown."

Haruko nearly dropped the glass she was holding.

" So-sou na...."

" Do me a favor Haruko."

" H-haii?"

" Call the others and report what happened. Tell them to go to NAME hospital."

" H-haii!" Haruko answered back as she rushed to the phone. Akagi ran outside, hoping that his team mate, Mitsui's condition wouldn't get any worse...

Haruko looked outside. It started to snow. White, cotton-like things fall lovely from the sky. They look simply beautiful, but not at a time like this. The glass she was holding a while ago, that she now placed on top of the table, fell and crashed to the floor. It was a symbol of bad luck...

The happening today was a bad gift for the near Christmas...indeed a bad gift... :(

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

" Please wait here. I assure you he'll be fine despite having a critical condition." Hagaki said to Ryota, hoping her words would comfort him.

" Arigato Gozaimasu." Ryota said with a bow.

Hagaki then rushed inside the emergency room and shut the doors close. Ryota sighed and sat down beside Ayako who was very, very worried about Mitsui's condition. He moved a little closer and tapped her shoulder, as if telling her 'It's alright'. Just then, they saw Akagi running towards them.

" Akagi! Good, you're here." Ryota said, standing.

" Where is he now? How's he doing? Where is he?" Akagi said, dusting the snow in his jacket.

Ryota pointed the Emergency room.

" The doctor said he'd be alright." Ryota said with an unsure face.

Silence filled the air. 

Christmas season shouldn't be like this...it should be happy...it should be carefree... but this tragedy may change their Christmas this year... 

Mitsui was their friend since before, despite the fact that he once fought them and disrespected the basketball court. He did make amends in all the wrong things he did. He helped a lot in bringing the Shohoku team to the Inter-High. If it wasn't for his three-pointers...if it wasn't for his help...

About 10 minutes had passed when the three were waiting in front of the emergency room. They were sweating so much, not because it was hot. They were very nervous. Then, they spotted Haruko coming with Sakuragi and Kogure behind her. Akagi greeted them with the news Ryota told him recently. Kogure and Sakuragi were really shocked at the sudden appearance of events, to be exact, horrible events. Haruko explained that Rukawa would be coming soon; he still needs to do something. Everyone was speechless until Hagaki went out of the door and took off her mask. 

" Here's the news..." She said. Everyone became extra nervous now.

" Mitsui-san lost a big amount of blood, almost 50%. We need a donor. He's type A."

Everyone was glad that Mitsui wasn't dead. Their only problem now is the donor.

" Now, who's type A?" Everyone looked around, making eye contacts to each other.

" Oni-chan and I are not type A." Haruko said sadly.

" I'm not a type A also." Sakuragi said.

" Me neither." Kogure said.

" I'm type B." Ryota said.

" So am I." Ayako said.

" I am." They all turned around and were shocked. Rukawa was there. He was raising his hand. " I Am." he repeated.

" Good. Rukawa-san, follow me. There's no much time." Rukawa followed Hagaki. 

Rukawa seemed to be a man who doesn't care about others. But when it comes to these emergencies, he feels that he needs to do something too. He also knows the meaning of the word 'TEAM' deep in his heart. A team helps each other, no matter what happens. _A team isn't a team without cooperation and unity_. That's what he was clearing to his mind these years. He wanted to change for the better.

Everyone didn't have the time to be curious on Rukawa's acts. They were busy worrying about their other friend, the great 3-pointer, former MVP, Mitsui Hisashi. :(

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day, Nobuhiro new the news that happened. He noticed the new members, plus Rukawa, looked gloomy and lifeless, unlike the past days that they were really full of energy that was often used up in doing the basics.

After one round of their basics, Ayako was seen rushing towards them with a big smile on her face. She nearly banged the door open in her excitement. 

" Aya-chan!!!" Ryota exclaimed.

" Minna!!" Ayako said, panting. It took a while before she could say something again. It looked like she just ran from one place that was far away from the gym.

" Aya-chan, what happened?" Ryota said, as the other players crowded around her.

" Mit...Mitsui-sempai..." She said in between breaths. " Mitsui-sempai is..."

" MITSUI-SEMPAI IS AWAKE AND IS FAR FROIM DANGER NOW!!!!!!!!!!"

Everyone rejoiced. Mitsui was safe now! They were jumping and shouting as if they won as the best team in the whole world. A cheerful one now replaced the dark, gloomy atmosphere a while ago.

Ayako looked at Rukawa and smiled.

" You know what? If it wasn't for you, Rukawa, Mitsui-sempai would be dead by now." 

Everyone then looked at Rukawa now.

" Nani?" Rukawa said curiously.

 In all of a sudden, he felt that a big group carried him and threw him up to the air, shouting " THANK YOU RUKAWA!!". It's also a miracle that Sakuragi joined. :)

" This is only for now!" Sakuragi exclaimed as he and the others threw Rukawa again on the air.

Rukawa felt that he wanted to smile again. He smiled again, but no one noticed that. He felt happy helping others, especially those in need.

" And one more thing." Everyone stopped when Ayako spoke again.

" Mitsui mentioned a name, that he said was the name of the one who attempted to kill him." 

" Who's this darn guy?!" Sakuragi said, looking fierce.

" He said the man was named Tamura Itoe."

" Tamura Itoe? Ha!!! Where's that guy? Where's that guy? Whe-" Akagi punched the worm-like Sakuragi now. He gave the red head a death stare, saying: ' Shut up will ya'. 

Ryota then noticed Nobuhiro looking nervous.

" What's wrong captain?" he asked.

" Tamura Itoe...Tamura Itoe...is...He is........."

Before Nobuhiro could say anything else, he spotted the man named Tamura Itoe at the Gym door, his arms folded behind his head, wearing that smile that Mitsui saw.

" Koninchiwa! Are you talking about me?" Tamura said.

" Hey, who are you?" Akagi asked.

" whistle* You're talking about me and then you don't know me? Akagi-san, you, make me cry. Huhuhu..." Tamura said in a mocking voice that irritated Akagi so much that he was just like a volcano now that is going to explode.

" Masaka...are you..."

" Boku no namae wa Tamura Itoe desu. You can call me Ii-chan for short." He said, still using his irritating voice tone.

" So you're the one who wanted to kill Mit-chin...no...Mitsui! Why?" Sakuragi shouted in anger.

" Oh? Well, he was the first one I saw. The truth is, you're the one that should be first. And my original plan was to kill ALL of you, including you, captain Nobuhiro."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Author's note: 

HAgaki: Now there you have it!!!! Rukawa smiled again and was the cause of Mitsui's recovery. And who really is this Tamura Itoe guy? Find out in the next chappies!!!

Bye Bye!!! R&R!!!!


	6. Glancing at the Excruciating Past

Author's Note:

Hagaki: Ko-ni-chi-wa!!!! Minna, I am so happy because of your reviews!!! My sister needs a break now, so I am writing this fic normally, because she doesn't help really. She's just an extra here in the author's note. (smiles devilishly)

( pillows, notebooks, bags, books, pens, pencils, laptops, refrigerator, TV, beds, and anything you can imagine were thrown to a panicking Hagaki)

Waah!!! Yameru!!! Yameru!!! ITAI!! ITAI!!

Minami: URUSAI, BAKA!!! I WAS THE ONE WHO TOLD YOU TO MAKE A FANFIC!!! YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT!!!!

Hagaki: WAAH!!! GOMEN!!!GOMEN!!! ITAI! ITAI!!!

( Two authors continue fighting ^______^;;)

Disclaimer: (choke* Choke*) ah...okay...Slam dunk doesn't belong to me...TAKEHIKO INOUE DOES!!! Ahh!!! Itai!! Yameru!!! Rukawa-kun, Tasuketeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**CHAPTER 6: Glancing at the Excruciating Past**

****

" Why you-" Sakuragi said, smoldering hotter than ever. 

" Mit-chan's in good condition now." Tamura said, mocking the red head. " Thanks to you, RU-KA-WA."

Rukawa looked at Tamura, eyes filled with all of his hatred and irritation. He walked closer. He was still silent though. He secretly touched his arm where he was injected yesterday. 

_" I__ didn't know you're a type A, Rukawa- kun."_

_Rukawa was still soundless as the injection went through his skin_

_" Mitsui__-san will be extremely grateful to you. I assure you that."_

_He was handed then with cotton that he placed over the small wound. _

_" Do__ you think so?"_

_" Yup__. It's like giving him a second chance to live"_

_"Hn."___

_" Hmm__ .. .you don't believe eh? Maybe you'll understand when the suspect appears in front of you and when the same thing happens to you...which I pray not to happen."_

_WHEN THE SAME THING HAPPENS TO YOU...WHEN THE SAME THING HAPPENS TO YOU...WHEN THE SAME THING..._

" The same thing won't happen." Rukawa said to Tamura. Tamura gave him an 'okay-fine' look and reached for his pocket. The thing he was pulling out was shining...it was a dagger!!! (definitely not D@gger) He then seized Rukawa, but to his dismay, Rukawa dodged and gave him a strong kick on his abdomen that sent him flat on his ass. Tamura stood up, still with the annoying smile. He then tried to kill Rukawa again, but Rukawa caught his arm and twisted it slowly and painfully. Even so, Rukawa was amazed that even a single cry, he didn't hear from this man. He twisted a little bit harshly, causing the bones to create a sound.

" That's enough, Rukawa." Nobuhiro ordered. Rukawa gave a final twist and then let go of Tamura's hand, which was swelling badly. (ha! That's what you get for attempting to kill my koibito!!)

" Tamura Itoe...what happened to you...?" Nobuhiro asked.

" You know this darn guy?" Sakuragi asked, his eyes widening in disbelief.

" He was ..."

_Five years had passed, a guy was always watching at the practices of the national team. His brother was a member, so he had no problem in going in and out of the gym. He also wanted to be a member. He was good; unfortunately, the tough-as-nails captain said that GOOD wasn't enough. PERFECT should do to be a national player .He envied others that were recruited. He often told his brother that he wanted to join, and his brother's reply was simple. " TRY TO BE PERFECT AND I'M SURE CAPTAIN WILL ALSO RECRUIT YOU." He waited and practiced patiently at their yard, sometimes in the gym, hoping the captain would notice him. But still, nothing happened...and he didn't know that there was something that could be the biggest wall in his life...sickness..._

_Until one day, rumors were heard that the new members of SHOHOKU were great .The captain was interested and watched every game of Shohoku. The guy was watching too, and was envious. He was with the captain for so long, practiced inside their gym, and along with is brother who was a great member. And now, here comes this team, which the captain was interested with. He got so mad that he practiced roughly everyday, despite a heavy, uncomfortable feeling rushing through his veins, hoping he'll beat those members someday...but his leg was broken...his hope is broken..._

_He stopped basketball because of one more reason. His brother died in an accident. His brother had a fight with the captain because the captain isn't listening to his brother or him in his explanation that he (the guy) was appropriate already to be a national player. Aggravated, he walked hastily on the street, not seeing a car rushing towards his direction..._

_Years later, he then heard that these members were recruited already. He felt that his blood was boiling .He then decided for revenge. He set aside his pleasing personality and wore a dress of darkness...darkness that even covered his conscience..._

" For years...I've trained hard enoughso that I'll be recruited someday...For long years...but, the cold hearted captain never gave me a chance...and even fought with my brother...that caused his death...AND NOW!!!! NOW HE'S RECRUITING SOMEBODY ELSE!!!!!" Every one was silent inside except for one who wanted to rupture out his expressions to him.

" WELL, THAT ISN'T A GOOD REASON FOR YOU TO KILL SOMEBODY!!!!" Sakuragi explained using an uproar voice.

" You don't understand! You-" Before he could finish his sentence, Ryota punched him so hard that he fell unconscious.

" Ryota...why?" Ayako asked, looking a bit confused.

" It's better if we do this early before he could do anything again." Ryota explained, laying Tamura on the floor.

" What do you think? Should we tell it to the police?" Kogure asked.

" We should." Akagi replied, looking at Nobuhiro, who nodded as a response.

" But before that, may I ask one thing..." Akagi walked closer to the captain with a serious expression creeping to his face. "Are you the captain who did all these?" 

It took a while before Nobuhiro could speak. It happened in the past, when he was still the "OTHER" Nobuhiro, the scary, very severe, and cold-hearted captain of the National team...

" Yes." he said with a sigh. " I am the one."

New members where shocked. They only know Nobuhiro as the happy-go-lucky, hard working, hard basic-giver captain of the National team. No one expected him to be like that in the past...

" But why? Why captain?" Masaki asked, his eyes filled with incredulity.

" His brother, Kiyoshi Tamura, was a good player and a good man. He often smiles problems off. He's also a compassionate brother to Itoe. But, there's one thing that he doesn't know, nor his brother..."

_" Nobuhiro__-san, please! Don't let my Itoe join the team!" Mrs. Tamura cried in front of Nobuhiro._

_" And__ why?" Nobuhiro asked._

_" Itoe__ has this sickness, Leukemia, which can be more dangerous and can even kill him if he moves roughly for a long time, or plays sports like basketball. Please understand, Nobuhiro-san!" Mrs. Tamura exclaimed, tears flowing from her motherly eyes._

_Nobuhiro fell silent. Now he needs to be super-strict on Itoe...even if it is against his own will..._

_" Why__ Captain?! Itoe is a good player! Let him join! As a brother, I can't take this anymore!!!" Kiyoshi said, shaking the confused captain continually._

_" I'm__ sorry, but I can't good isn't enough for me." Nobuhiro said, trying to hide the troubled feeling._

_" Captain__! I can't believe this...I DIDN'T KNOW THAT YOU ARE SO COLD HEARTED!!!" Kiyoshi ran outside the gym, not minding a car rushing by..._

_SCREEEEEEECCCHHHHHH!!!_

_" Kiyoshi__?" Nobuhiro ran outside, panicking. He then spotted his friend/member, lying on the ground, swimming in his own pool of blood._

_" KIYOOOOOOOSHHIIIIIIII__!!!!"_

" I really didn't know that it'll reach this far..." Nobuhiro said miserably, looking really culpable.

" Captain..."

" I wanted to tell him the truth, but I thought that the truth would hurt him even more...I understand his feeling as a brother..." 

Nobuhiro looked up as a single tear rolled down on his cheek, making everyone silent. Melancholically fleeting thoughts were roaming around everyone's minds, as they imagine the past their captain had. An agonizing, unanticipated past he had. Now the old members understood why the captain was tough on Itoe. He was anxious about the brother of his teammate.

He suffered for years doing things reluctantly. He really wanted to recruit Itoe, but no. The other side of his mind was telling him NO... despite the fact that he really wanted the young one to join.

" Captain...I'm sorry." Akagi said, patting Nobuhiro's shoulder.

" No. I am. " he replied, his eyes covered with his hair.

" Well, lets bring him now to the police, before he wakes up and kills someone again." Ryota said as he helped the unconscious Itoe stand up. Everyone nodded as a sign of agreement.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

" Mitsui-san, daijobu ka?" Kogure asked solicitously, sitting beside the bed of Mitsui, who was half-lying at the bed. Behind them were the others, chatting non-stop (Sakuragi ^_^) about being worried...blahblahblah...

" Haii. Daijobu desu. Thanks to Rukawa." He said, smiling at the innocent looking Rukawa, who had the did-I-do-something-expression on his face. Kogure giggled.

" But that was very near." Kogure said, changing his expressions quickly.

" YES! THAT WAS NEAR, MIT-CHIN!!! WE WERE SOOO-" Akagi quickly covered the red head's mouth, making him choke to death.

" Urusai! You're too noisy, bakayarou!!!" Akagi exclaimed.

" Ah...calm down Akagi..." Kogure said weakly, sweat dropping. Rukawa, Ryota, and Ayako sighed. Akagi the freed the panting Sakuragi when a nurse came and asked if everything is all right. He was red because he was ashamed of his loud voice and the red headed trouble maker beside him. After the nurse left, Sakuragi imitated Gori...er...Akagi's  expression a while ago, but he was exaggerating to much that Akagi couldn't help himself not to strangle Sakuragi again.

" Why you *%#@$&+!!! I'll KILL YOU!!!!!!" Akagi said as he strangled Sakuragi even harder, turning into his gorilla form.

" WA-AH-AH-!!! G-Gori!!! Ha-HANASE!!!! HANASE!!!!! OI, M-MEGANE-KUN, T-TASUKETE!!!! R-RYOU-C-CHIN!!! K-KITSUNE!!!! L-LADY GORI-"

PAK!

" You...how dare you call me a lady gori!!!!" Ayako exclaimed, slapping Sakuragi repeatedly with her fan while being held by Akagi.

KICK!

" Yeah!!! Don't call my Aya-chan a lady gori!!!" Ayako then threw a death-stare at Ryota.

" What do you mean by "MY?" She asked, looking very irritated at the word Ryota leased.

" Ah..n-nothing..." Ryota said, turning red.

" Yare Yare." Rukawa said, sighing.

" My, my! Here we go again!" Mitsui said, laughing lightly.

" HAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNAAAAAASSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

(^______^;;)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_I would get out of here soon...and I'll kill you all..._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Author's note:

Ah...I already recovered... ^o^;

Here is chapter 6!!! The last line is scary...maybe...and I guess you know who this is! Mit-chan's O-K-A-Y!!! Eiko wouldn't be mad anymore. (GOMEN, EIKO-CHAN!!!!)

Sorry, It'll be a while before I could post the next chapter. There's a problem with the computer. Maybe, I'll post the next one after two weeks.

In the meantime, watch out for my fanfic entitled " COUNTLESS TEARS AND THE UNENDING SORROW". It's a Yuyuhakusho-HunterXHunter Crossover. You'll like it, PROMISE!!!!!!

See you soon!!!


	7. For all those who think I hate yaoi

**For all those who think that I hate yaoi: **

I really do not hate yaoi. The vomit thing written on the summary is connected the part when I said I was descent because I don't think I'm descent. Is it clear to you now? Hahahahaha! I DO NOT HATE YAOI (actually I read a lot of yaoi.) But when it comes to those HANARU pairings, I DO NOT LIKE IT BECAUSE RUKAWA IS MINE! ONLY MINE! AND NOTHING BUT MINE! The next chapter will be delayed for a while. Just watch out for it. Ja ne!


	8. Sharing Roller Coaster Experiences

Author's Note:

Hagaki: Minna!!!! Ogenki desu ka? So, maybe you've read about the Chapter (well, actually it isn't one ^.^) before this. CLEARLY STATED. I DO NOT HATE YAOI!!!!! Yare yare...why do you guys get me wrong?! Anyway, here goes!!!! Chappy seven for you guys!!!! Here's my replies!!!!

SLL: You have a day before I go wild. Find a safe hiding place right now!!!! ^.^

Jan: Well, no need to say it...

tensaispira: yup. Leukemia is definitely sad. ;p

Raei: Baka Hakuryu!!!! You left my diskette!!! I was unable to submitt the next chappies because my diskette was with you!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: SD doesn't belong to me. Period.

****

Chapter 7: Sharing Roller Coaster Experiences...

" Sensei!!!" Mitsui's pupils ran towards him, greeting him happily. He's on the hospital for half a month, and at last, the doctor let him go.

" Hey! How's my students doing?" Mitsui said happily, a smile brightening his face. His students laughed and replied him with a hearty "FINE!!!" as they helped him enter the gym.

" Oh, look at him! He's being loved by many people." Sakuragi said with a wide smile, wearing his normal jeans and shirt, with a jacket to protect him from the cold weather of Christmas. Hanging on his shoulder is his bag, which has no other thing in it except for a basketball and spare practice dress.

" That's just normal." Ryota said, fixing his bag at his back and dusting his navy-blue jacket.

" Hey! Tomorrow's Christmas Eve! What do you plan to do? Would you go out now? Enjoy? Go out of town? Shop? What? Tell me so I can go with you guys! Being stuck in the house makes me bored to death." Ayako said excitedly, searching everyone's eyes for an answer.

" Uhm... well, I fell like going out today, but I don't know where." Kogure said with a timid expression.

" Me too." Akagi said.

" Wherever you go, I will go too, Aya-chan." Ryota said dreamily.

" No comment." Rukawa said in his usual I-DO-NOT-CARE expression.

" HEY!!! Why not go to the fun park?" Sakuragi recommended.

" Well, I don't have much work, so I'll go!" Haruko said with pleasure. 

" Good!!! I'll join you guys!!!" Ayako exclaimed.

" I'll go too!!!!" Ryota exclaimed.

" Well, it's not a bad idea, ne Akagi?" Kogure said.

" Okay. How about you, Rukawa?" Akagi questioned.

" I don't know..."

" Aw, c'mon Rukawa!!!! Join us!!! It'll be happier if we are many!!!" Ayako pleaded.

" Rukawa-kun..." Haruko murmured.

" Fine." He said, turning around and walking nearer the group.

" How about Mit-chin?" 

" Mitsui-sempai!!! Are you going with us too?" 

" Yes!!! Be there in a flash!!!" Mitsui replied, picking up his bag and zipping his jacket. "Merry Christmas guys. See you after the break okay?" Mitsui told his students.

" Haii!!! Merry Christmas sensei!!!!"

Mitsui ran towards the group as they walked towards the nearest bus station to transport them there.

" This is going to be FUN!!!!" Ayako said, her smile wider than ever.

" CHOTTO MATTE!!!!!!!"

" Uh-oh...I think I know this guys..." Sakuragi said, his face turning blue. Everybody turned to see the Sakuragi-guntai, dressed in SANTA CLAUS costumes. (Except Yohei...)

" HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!...Itai!!!"

" Takamiya...you pig!!! It's not HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! It's HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!"

BAG!

" Baka!!! It's MERRY ANNIVERSARY!!!"

The Sakuragi-guntai continued arguing and spanking each other like crazy. ^.^;

" *SIGH* Yare yare." Yohei said with a shrug. " Oi Hana-"

" Minna, lets go farther or we'll be affected by moron virus." Sakuragi said as he started to walk away.

" You would leave us behind?" Takamiya said, trying to be dramatic. (FUNNY, DRAMATIC SONG AS BACKROUND)

" How rude of you guys...sniff*" Okusu cried.

" Hanamichi...you're so mean!" Noma said with (fake) tears trickling down his cheeks.

MINNA: Sweatdrop -_-;

" Oi! Hanamichi! Let us join with you! We're friends, remember?" Yohei said in his normal tone.

" Wakatta, wakatta! K'so...JUST DON'T BE KILL JOYS!!!!" Sakuragi exclaimed.

" WAHHH!!! SANKYU, SANKYU HANAMICHI!!!!" Takamiya, Okusu and Noma exclaimed as they rushed to Sakuragi and hugged him.

" Yameru!!!! Hanase!!!" Sakuragi shouted, sweeping his friends away from him.

" Do'aho." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

" What ride do you want to try first?" Ayako asked, searching around the park.

" ROLLER COASTER!!!!!!!" Sakuragi and his gang shouted.

" My, my! You're just like kids!" Ryota said, looking really ashamed.

" He's the king of simplicity, no doubt." Yohei said with a shrug.

" So, okay. But how will we be seated?" Ayako asked.

" I'll seat with Kogure." Mitsui said quickly, pointing at Kogure.

" That's fine with me." Kogure said.

Ryota then looked at Ayako with sparkling eyes.

" *Sigh* Okay! I'll go with Ryota." Ryota (chibi) cried for joy.

" I'll seat with Haruko!!!!!!!" Sakuragi exclaimed. BAG!!!!

" Bakayarou!!!!!!! I won't let you sit near my imouto!!!!!!!" Akagi exclaimed.

" Then who's sitting beside Haruko?" Sakuragi questioned, holding his head.

" I will." Akagi said. " Do you have any comments?"

" LOTS!!!!" Sakuragi exclaimed. " Why should a Gori sit beside Haruko?"

BAG!BAG!BAG!

" BAKA!"

" Why you-!!!!"

Hagaki: Please wait for a moment. Boxing tournament going on. ^.^

" Okay! It's settled! Haruko, you sit beside Rukawa. It's better than this baka beside you!" Akagi said, his face full of band-aids. :p

" K'so! Why Rukawa?!" Sakuragi shouted.

" Rukawa can be trusted." said Akagi.

" How about me?" asked Sakuragi.

" You can't be trusted so you'll sit beside me."

" NAAAAAAAAANIIIIIIIII??????!!!!!!!" 

" Wai! Congratulations HANAMICHI!!!! YOU'LL BE SITTING BESIDE GORI!!!! IT'S LIKE ROLLER COASTER AND HORROR TRAIN AT THE SAME TIME!!!!" Exclaimed the Sakuragi-guntai, throwing confetti over the sobbing Sakuragi. Later, all of them are spotted with two lumps on the head each, one from Akagi, and the other one from Sakuragi. ;p

As they were already seated at the ride, Ryota spotted someone before him.

" Captain?" Ryota said. He then tapped the man's shoulder. To his surprise, it was really their captain, Nobuhiro, sitting at the roller coaster. Nobuhiro then was shocked at Ryota, that caused him to almost jump from the seat. He was blushing madly.

" Huh? Why are you blushing Captain?" Ayako then tapped Ryota's shoulder and pointed at the left of Nobuhiro. There was a pretty lady beside him, looking timid, and was slightly pink. A mischievous smile crept up Ryota and Ayako's faces.

" Captain...who's she?" Ryota questioned, nudging Nobuhiro by his elbow. Nobuhiro blushed even more.

" And what are you two doing here?" Ayako asked.

" We are...having a...." the next words were just whispered by Nobuhiro.

" NANI?! THIS IS YOUR GIRLFIREND?! AND YOU"RE DATING??!!" Ryota exclaimed. He couldn't believe that their captain has a girlfriend. He was just joking a while ago, and he was expecting that the girl was Nobuhiro's sister or something.

" Miyagi! Do-Don't tell this to anybody..."

" Huh? Why should I tell? There's no need for that!"

He then pointed the others at his back, waving at him and smiling mischievously. 

" What the-?!" Nobuhiro said as he felt that he wanted to faint. 

(Hagaki: Gomen Nobuhiro-san!!!! Gomen for ruining your date!!! HIHIHI!!!!)

A moment later, a light twinkled as a signal that the ride will be moving. Everyone held on their seats tightly as the roller coaster started. They (minus Rukawa there) are screaming their hearts out as the roller coaster twisted and ran up and down on its tracks....until they reached the steepest part, the LOOP. Haruko wanted to just grab Rukawa at her side, but she was too shy, so she just held on her seat firmly.

" Oh god..." she murmured.

On the other hand, the Sakuragi-guntai were already hugging each other. ;p

Mitsui and Kogure was just smiling, but deep inside, they're a bit scared.

Sakuragi was shivering slightly. 

" G-g-g-g-o-go-r-rri-gori...." he said as his hands were shakily reaching Akagi. Akagi punched him.

" Baka. Be a man!" Akagi said.

Ryota was, well, grabbing Ayako's arm tightly, looking very scared.

" *Sigh* You're not afraid bullying others but you're afraid in roller coasters." She said, sweat dropping.

Nobuhiro, unfortunately, was doing the same thing to his girlfriend.

" Men, how pathetic" Ayako said with another sigh as they passed the LOOP of the roller coaster.

After the ride and after regaining consciousness, they then moved to the WHO-CAN-SHOOT-THE-MOST-BASKETBALL stall. 

" Hn! This will be very easy." Mitsui said, looking very cocky.

" Pathetic." aid Sakuragi overconfidently.

Kogure, Rukawa and Akagi did not make any comment.

" Okay, how about a bet? The one who can shoot the least number will treat us for food!" Ryota said.

" Count me on!!!" Mitsui and Sakuragi exclaimed in unison.

Mitsui then paid the stall owner first and shot 50/50 in just the time limit of 3 minutes. Next to him was Kogure, who failed to shot 2 balls, that gave him a score of 48/50 in the same time limit of 3 minutes. Then it was Akagi's turn. He was a bit unused to shooting from far places, so he had a 39/50. Sakuragi was also poor in those kinds of shooting, so he scored 40/50. Rukawa, last but not the least, scored a perfect 50/50. So obviously, Akagi will be treating 11 guys, plus him, minus Nobuhiro and his girlfriend (because they already separated from the group.).

" Akagi..." Ryota, Sakuragi and Mitsui said in unison. " You'll be treating us today..."

" Okay fine! But before that, lets go first to the horror house." Akagi said, reaching for his wallet. He then took a peep and saw that his money was just exact for all of them. After seeing a painful (^_^) view, he sighed as he placed his wallet back and walked with his friends towards the horror house.

Hagaki: Unfortunately for him, his day became more miserable inside the Horror house because...

Inside the horror house, Haruko was clutching Akagi's arm tightly. They then walked around and saw terrifying things (actually, they're only effects ^.^) that made them screech every time. When they were about to go out, a man blocked their way.

" Hey! You! Aren't you an employee here? Go back to work! You should be at the GORILLA SECTION!!!" The man exclaimed, referring to, who else, but Akagi. He was mistaken as an employee in the HORROR house wearing a gorilla costume.

" Uh~oh..we're gonna get it! Run!!!" 

" WHO'S A GORILLA?! WHO'S A GORILLA?!" Akagi hollered, transforming to his gorilla-look. He was chasing the poor man like a wild gorilla.

Akagi:" Who's a wild gorilla?!"

Hagaki: ah!!!! GETTING PUNCHED BY GORI...ITAI!!! I MEAN, AKAGI!!!!

Later on, they went to the food court. They saw that the food court is full, and they can't see a vacant space. After a while, they spotted 6 men on a long table.

" Hm...looks like they're bullies." Akagi said.

" Bullies eh?"

The three troublemakers ( The do'aho, Mit-chan and Ryou-chin) decided that they'll force away those men at the table. They dragged Akagi along, believing that the men will be extra afraid if they would see a gori. (Hagaki: Oops! No punchy!!!!) Ayako told Rukawa to join so that the men will also be afraid of the wall-like height of the trio, Rukawa, Akagi and Sakuragi.

" Move." Sakuragi said to the men.

" Hn! why shoul..." the leader then turned around to see 5 tall people. (I mean 4, minus Ryota :p) "...d we move..." 

He nearly screamed when he saw Akagi clearly. He ordered his gang to clean the table and shine it.

"Ah..boss..here you go...you can sit here...hehe.." The man said, shuddering. " I'll even call the waiter for you. Waiter!!!!!"

Everyone: sweatdrop*

" Konninchiwa!!!!" Two waiters, namely Hagaki and Minami said.

" Hey!!! You're both my doctors!!!" Mitsui exclaimed.

" Yes? What's wrong with that? This is our side job!!!!" Hagaki explained.

" And you're the one at the Horror house!!!" Akagi said.

" Haii! You- wait!!!! How dare you punch me a while ago!!!! I'm the author here!!!!" *PUNCHES AKAGI*

" A...Hagaki, Yameru....Rukawa is here..." Whispered Minami. Hagaki froze like a stone.

" A...Nani wo tabamasuka? (May I take your order?)" Hagaki asked.

" Chicken Yakitori!!!!"

"Pork Tonkatsu!!!!"

" Anything..."

" Maguro sashimi...blah blah..blah blah"

After taking everyone's order, Akagi was forced to pay an agonizing price. (Hahaha!!! That's what he gets for abusing the author!!!) A moment later, the food was served, with matching gong sounds and flashing lights. 

" Please enjoy your food." The sisters said with a bow.

" ITADAKIMASU!!!!!"

As they took a bite on the food, their faces suddenly brightened up as if they have found the best treasure in the world.

The dish was so flavorful that they couldn't help but to eat everything without leaving any. After eating, they called the sisters to ask a question.

" Who cooked this unbelievably great food?" Sakuragi asked, looking as if he's in heaven.

" Who else? But the world's youngest super chef, Liu Mao Hsing!!!" 

" What?!"

" Isn't he supposed to be on another show?!"

When everyone was very shocked, Mao suddenly came in.

" Konninchiwa!!! I decided to pay a visit here in your show." He said with a bow.

" The rumors are true!!! You're very great!!!" Ayako exclaimed.

" Oi! Hagaki! What's the meaning of this?" Asked Akagi. Hagaki didn't answer; instead, she stuck out her tongue.

" BAKA SARU!!!!!"

" ERO KAPPA!!!!" 

GUNSHOTS

" Yare yare desu ne..."

They all turned around and spotted the Sanzo-ikkou at their back. 

" Even them?!"

" Gon! Matte!!!!"

" Leorio!!!"

" OI!!!! Kurapica!!! That's mine!!!!"

" Killua!!!! How about the Ferris wheel?"

" EVEN THEM?!"

" WAAA!!! YUSUKE!!! DON'T FIRE YOUR REIGUN!!!!"

" Hn."

" Don't stop me!!!!"

" Ah..minna..."

" EVEN THEM???!!!"

They all looked around to see Conan, Sakura and Syaoran, Jornne and Elissis, Recca-gumi, Kenshin-gumi...the whole Bokuto traffic section, the team Hana, blah blah bla....

Minna: SWEATDROP;

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After enjoying the rest of the day, they all went home, tired but happy. Tomorrow, at twelve midnight... 

__

it's Christmas...

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Author's Note:

Hagaki: Yo! Konninchiwa minna!!!! So here ya go for chappy SEVEN!!!! So, how's that huh? Letting many other anime's join this fic!!!! Anyway, Minami's here. She helped (at last) in this chapter.

Minami: Minna!!!! Ogenki desu ka? I missed you all. Sorry I was not there in the previous chapters. So many assignments and all, especially that I wanted to maintain my grades. Anyway, Hagaki is so...so... so... bad!!!! daikirai! Just stay tuned for the next chapters!!!!!!

Hagaki: Nani?! Why am I bad? You're just a braced, nerdy-nerd, black girl!!!!!!!!!!!

Minami: Really huh?! Whad'ya think of yourself? A very pretty girl? Yuck! You're just a an ugly girl with big glasses, big boobs and big butt!!!! For short, you're a big elephant combined with a hippo!!!!! Hagaki Baka!!!!

Hagaki: NANI!!!!! YOU'RE JUST A FLAT-CHESTED, MEMBER OF THE GAY FEDERATION, PART OF SOME #@$%&^*!!!!! BAKA, FLAT CHESTED, PALITO-LIKE NERDY, UGLY, RAT-TEETH-LIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Minami: Do'aho!!! My boobs are not flat!!! You're just jealous cause you have BIG SAGGING BREASTS!!!! HAGAKI: * Grabs the keyboard MInami: Hey!!!! *Pulls hair Anyway, I don't want to lose my manners in front of all. So I'll just stop this stupid fighting. I'm ashamed of your attitude!!!! So...GOMEN NASAI MINNA!!!!

Hagaki: She's lying!!!! Actually, she's cursing now!!!!! She's P-L-A-S-T-I-C!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, lets stop this..... BUT WE'RE STILL WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Minami: Urusai!!! I told you this is stupid!!!! Again... Gomen!!!

Both: JA NE!!!!!

__

Such a long author's note we have there. Anyway, thank you for all who are reading and reviewing this fic. We will try to answer some quetions on the next chapters. If you have more questions, just e-mail us at naijae@edsamail.com.ph. Actually we share this e-mail add now. Originally it was mine (Minami's). Next chapters coming up! R&R please!!!!!


	9. Drunken Christmas

Author's note:

Hagaki: Anatadake Mitsumeteru...hitori de Matsu...Ah!!! Minna!!!! Konninchiwa!!! Here's Chapter eight!!!!

Minami: (turning the cassette player off) Better type now!!!! Everyone's here!!!

Hagaki: Che!!! Urusai!!!! I know what to do!!!!

Minami: Anyway, please enjoy this short chapter.

Hagaki: You'll know later why it's short.

BOTH: JA NE!!!!

****

Chapter 8: Drunken Christmas...

On the chilly streets, a soft Christmas jingle could be heard, beautiful snow gently falling on the ground, shimmering lights, enormous Christmas trees, people with lots of shopping bags, buying at this last hour, some where at their homes, sitting peacefully before the warm fire.

" Kaede? Kaede, there's a package for you at the door." Rukawa's mom said, waking the sleeping Rukawa up. Rukawa stirred and groaned, scratching his head lightly. He cursed softly at that damn package disturbing his sleep. He then read at the label. "To: Rukawa Kaede Merry Christmas From our heart, your fans." 

It was them again, those darn girls who kept on drooling on him since senior high. He just set aside the big package. But then, he noticed a smaller package beneath. He picked it up and read the label. " Rukawa Kaede, A small gift for this year's Christmas. Akagi Haruko." He then grunted, but brought the small gift and placed it under the Christmas tree, beside all the other gifts given to him by his teammates.

11:59. A minute to go before Christmas. Kogure went out of their house to invite Mitsui and his parents along. Mitsui was just a house away from them, so there's no problem. He also invited the others, but they said that they'd be late. Others said that they can't because they said they need to spend some time with their parents this Christmas.

" Arigato, Kogure-san. We understand that Christmas is happier when we are many." Mitsui's father said, bowing slightly.

" Ah...doo itashimashta. (Don't mention it) My grandmother was really the one who told me to do so."

" Even so, we would like to thank you. Good thing that our naughty son had a kind friend like you." Mitsui's mother said, causing Mitsui to blush madly.

" Stop that!" He exclaimed.

Kogure let out a giggle as he led them to their house, where his grandmother was waiting.

" Kiminobu, hayaku. (Faster) One minute to go before twelve." said Kogure's grandmother.

" Haii."

" Haruko-san.... *mumble*...." Sakuragi murmured as he was sleeping. His mother was watching him, laughing at her son that was looking stupid just because he was drooling over a girl.

" Hanamichi, okiro. (Wake up) " She gently said on his ear. Sakuragi opened his eyes slowly.

" 'kaasan? Nani?"

" Why don't you go to your friends now? Isn't it they invited you for a party?" Sakuragi stood up and threw the pillow he was hugging. Stretching and yawning, he went straight to the bathroom to change his clothes.

" Hanamichi, one minute to go before Christmas." His mother reported.

" Haii...wakatta..." He replied groggily. After changing, he ran towards the door, greeted his mother "goodbye", and headed for Kogure's house. But before going straight to his friend's house, he stopped by the cemetery. He then went to his father's grave, said a prayer, left a flower, and then hurried towards his real destination.

" Kogure?" Ryota said as he knocked on the door, holding Ayako's wrist. It looks like they rushed towards there.

After a while, they then heard someone say " Hold on". 

Kogure opened the door.

" Ah, Miyagi, Ayako. Okaeri. But I thought you wouldn't come?" Kogure said, letting them enter.

" We couldn't help it, ne, Aya-chan?" Ryota said as he freed Ayako at last. Ayako nodded.

" We thought that if we wouldn't go, we would miss all the fun." She added.

" Sou ka."

Just when Kogure would close the door, he spotted Sakuragi running towards their direction. He then waited for him at the door.

" Hello Sakuragi. Okaeri." Kogure said.

" Ah...Megane-kun, I almost got lost." Sakuragi replied, plopping at the floor. " Anyway, would Haruko come?"

" Yup. But Akagi said they'd be here approximately twelve thirty."

Rukawa was having second thoughts. Would he go? Or would he not? He sighed as he sat at his chair, staring at the fireplace.

After a moment, he stood up and grabbed his jacket. He told his mother that he'd be going. His mother smiled as a sign of approval, and watched him as he walked towards the door.

Rukawa pulled his bike, dusted the snow out, wore his gloves, and drove off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

" Take, isn't that you and Haruko were invited by a friend? Why don't you go now?" Mr. Akagi said (Let's call Akagi Takenori for a while, his father is here.)

" Spare us a moment with you, otosan, okasaan." Takenori said. He then looked at his imouto, who looked very irritated.

" Onichan!! We'll be terribly late!!!" Haruko said.

" Go now Takenori. You and your sister are not children any longer. Time will come that you two will be separated from us. It's not for eternity that you'll be glued on our sides. You'd be on your own. I hope you understand that Takenori, so do you, Haruko. So, you may go now if you want to. Your friends are waiting for you." 

" Okasaan...arigato." Takenori said as they hurriedly went out, leaving a smiling, but crying mother, because of joy.

Rukawa stopped in front of Kogure's house. He parked his bike at the gate and knocked. After seeing Kogure, and after being greeted by him, he walked inside and was greeted by his other friends.

" Good thing that you came Rukawa. Now, it's only Akagi and Haruko who's missing." Kogure said, taking his seat. 

" Oh, and your friends too, Sakuragi." He added.

" Nani?!" Sakuragi exclaimed.

" KONBANWA, MINNA!!!!!" Sakuragi-guntai exclaimed happily as they entered the house.

" Hey, we brought something to drink!" Yohei said. Takamiya, Okusu and Noma brought in cases of liquor that made everyone shocked. " This is our gift to you!!!" They exclaimed.

" Arigato, Mito, Takamiya, Okusu, Noma." Kogure said.

" Oi!!! Why don't we play a little game? Let's see who can drink the most!!!!" Takamiya requested.

" Count me in!!!" Sakuragi said.

" I'll join too!!!" Mitsui said.

" Don't forget me!!!" Ryota said. They all grabbed a bottle as Yohei counted up to three, signaling them to start.

" Maa..." Was all that Ayako could say.

" Let them be." Kogure said, sweatdropping.

" Do'a'ho." Rukawa sighed, as he snatched a bottle and poured for himself.

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" Oi, you're Tamura Itoe right? You'll be free by next month, so stay there and be quiet like all the others." A police said as he locked the police station, leaving Itoe with the other prisoners.

He then stared at the gray ceiling of the prison. Darn, what a Christmas....

" Nobuhiro...I'll kill you, that's for sure...."

But one there's one thing nobody knows about Itoe's present condition.

He was already an autistic...

He became an autistic because of all the painful things that happened to him. He lost hope. He lost his mind. Now, he'll be more dangerous than ever...

" Oi, kid. You're speechless. What happened to you? What's your case?" A man inside the same cell said.

Itoe didn't reply.

" Kid, you're such a chicke- WAAAAAAAH!!!" 

Before the man could finish his sentence, Itoe kicked him repeatedly, punched him, and slammed the man's head on the wall harshly. The other persons inside where telling him to stop, but he didn't listen to them.

" NOBUHIRO!!!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!!" He was shouting, misguided the man as Nobuhiro. He continued this until the man was half dead, lying at the floor, his head bleeding badly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

" Konbanwa min-" Akagi then spotted the Sakuragi guntai, Sakuragi, Ryota, and Mitsui looking damn drunk, lying at the floor. "-na."

" What's going on?" Haruko asked.

" They just had a contest to see who could drink the most." Kogure replied, sweat dropping.

" Tora tora uma! Tora Tora uma! Libilibidou....." Sang the seven men, dancing like crazy. (Minami: Wah! Hidoi! They're drunk!!!! ^.^)

" Haruko-san *hic!*...." Sakuragi said as he grabbed Haruko's ankle, causing her to be shocked. She screamed as she (unwillingly) slapped Sakuragi, making him fly outside, his face smashing on the neighbor's wall. He then flared in anger as he charged Akagi, thinking that it was Akagi who slapped him.

" Why you GORILLA!!!!!" He exclaimed, head-butting Akagi.

" Saru!!!!" Akagi shouted back, punching Sakuragi.

" Itai!!!! You slapped me then you punched me!!!! Why you cold-hearted, nose-swelling, gorilla-faced %$#@*&^%!!!!!"

" BAKAYAROU!!!! IT WASN'T ME!!!!"

" THEN WHO?! WHO'S THAT #@$%&*^%?!"

" Ah...gomen nasai, Sakuragi-kun...ano...it was me..." 

Sakuragi turned into stone.

" Haruko...Haruko-san?!"

__

SAKURAGI'S THOUGHT:

" Sakuragi-kun, DAIKIRAI!!!!!!!" Shouted Haruko, running away from Sakuragi.

" Haruko-san!!!!" Sakuragi cried. The waves of the sea splashing against the rocks behind him.

" Waah!!! Haruko-san, please forgive me!!!!" Hollered Sakuragi. Question marks appeared on (CHIBI) Haruko's head.

" Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" Haruko said.

" Oi, Gori...*HIC!* Join us!!!!" Takamiya said.

" I don't drink liquor." Akagi said.

" Che! *hic!* Megane-kun, join us!!!!" Takamiya said, drinking more.

" Oi, Takamiya. Yameru. *hic!* He's an innocent, girly guy. *hic!*" Okusu said, waving the bottle he was holding.

Kogure's aura was surrounding him and was turning into fire.

" Ko-kogure-sempai!!!! He-he's drunk!!! He's drunk!!!" Ayako exclaimed, pulling the atomic bomb-like Kogure back.

" Aya-chan!!!! *hic!* Why are you hugging him?!" asked a super drunk Ryota. " Aya-chan!!!!"

" Ryota....ah...you're mistaken!!!!"

" Oi! Kogure! *HIC!* Don't let anyone call you a girly-gu-*HIC!* girly-guy...." said Mitsui, his eyes nearly closing.

" *SIGH* a house full of drunk guys....what should I do?" Akagi said.

" Leave them alone." Rukawa answered, pouring another one for himself. He was also a bit drunk. His cheeks were slightly red. (That makes him MOOOORRRREEE kawaii!!!!!!!!!!)

This Christmas...is....a DRUNKEN Christmas...^.^

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Author's note:

Hagaki: There you have our short chapter, chapter eight!!!!!

Minami: We hope that you understand why we call this a short chapter...

Both: To all of you, advanced MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!! 


	10. and finally Death

Author's note:

Hagaki: Deck the halls with loads of homework...huhuhuhuhu...ooh my GOD!!!! Gomen for posting ths late!!!!! It's because of that darn homework!!!!!!!! It gave me never-ending back-aches and head-aches!!!!!!!!! Anyway, here's chapter 9. This is kinda senti, mind you. I even cried (?) while I was writing this ( lie detector bomb will explode any minute!!!!)

Before everything else, I would like to clear something with you guys. Itoe supposed to be INSANE not an AUTISTIC. An autistic is born with that kind of *special gift*. Insane is because of depression. GOMEN!!!!

Anyway, before the bomb explodes, thanks to Raei-chan for the ice cream you give me everyday!!!!! ^.^

KABLAAAAAM!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: Dr. T is the owner of Slam Dunk. I'm just borrowing it.

**Chapter 9: ...and finally DEATH**

****

Christmas is now over and so is the celebrating of the New year. After some time, things came back to normal. Practices everyday, classes everyday, hard-work every day...everything was typical again for everybody..but not for long...

Nobuhiro opened the gym door and did his usual warm-up. After some stretching, dribbling etc., he picked up a letter placed on the bench. He then smiled as he read the label.

" This'll be a great game..."

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" Haa...I got damn drunk on Christmas day..." croaked Mitsui, wiping the sweat trickling down his cheek.

" Me too." Ryota assumed.

" You guys..." Ayako murmured as she shook her head slightly, offering Ryota and Mitsui some water. " You look totally awful that night!!! Specially when you said...."

" Eh? Said what?" Mitsui and Ryota asked in unison.

" Said...said...nah forget it!!! Better go back to your basics! Shame on you that you're still doing basics on your fourth week!"

" Hehe...okay...." Mitsui murmured as he stood up and warmed up.

" Ja, Aya-chan." Ryota bidded as he stood up and followed Mitsui who was walking towards the other corner of the gym (where Rukawa will train them ^.^).

_" WAAAAH!!!! Let's STRIP down!!!!! THe one who can go the farthest hic! will win!!!!!" MItsui exclaimed, waving a bottle in the air, letting the red liquor slosh out messily._

_" Ah!!!! Mit-mitsui-sempai, dame!!!!" Ayako shouted, still pulling (the raging)Kogure back._

_" Aya-chan, join us!!!!" Ryota said, forcing Ayako out._

_" Baka Ryota!!!! Stop that!!!!" She exclaimed, letting out her fan and whacked the muffin head._

_" Akagi! Rukawa! Help me would ya?!"  Ayako asked as she was nearly crying (chibi). _

" Oh boy..." Ayako muttered, smiling at herself. Guess she can't do anything about a bunch of guys who are so whacky exept train them hard to be the best of the best.

" Ayako-san! May I talk for you a minute?" Akane exclaimed from the gym door, waving her hands high in the air.

" Haii! Coming!!!" 

Ayako ran towards the manager of the National team who was wearing a blissful smile.

" Ayako-san, you'll be happy to hear this!" Akane said exitedly, her eyes turning wide.

" Eh? What's that, Akane-san?"

" They'll finally have their debut as a All-Japan team!!!"

" Honto?!" Ayako said with disbelief.

" Yup!!! Wait for Oda's, I mean, captain's explanation to know about it futher."

" This'll be great!" 

" But don't tell them yet! Captain wants it as a surprise." Ayako nodded as she headed towards the manager's bench with a wide smile.

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" Okay, everyone! Stop! Assemble!!!" Nobuhiro shouted, clapping his hands loudly, making the sweaty, out-of-breath members assemble before him.

" Hey hey! Looks like everyone's too tired to hear some really good news!"

" What kind of good news is this?" Questoned Akagi,hanging the towel he was holding on his shoulder.

" We'll be finally...?" Started Sakuragi. Nobuhiro started to nod. "...we'll be finally be out of the basics?"

Nobuhiro smashed on the floor. ^.^

" That's not it!" he said, finally getting up.

" I get it..." Mitsui said confidently. Nobuhiro's face lightened up and he was nodding rapidly.

" Yes...you know it already Mitsui?"

" You finally understood that I am not suitable for pathetic basics, and also knew that I' m the ace of this team. You've decided that I'll finally make my debut! Bwahahaha!!!" Bog!

" That's not it!!!!" Nobuhiro said, knocking Mitsui's head.

" Then tell it straight!!!! What the hell is IT?!" MItsui exclaimed, grimacing in pain.

" Okay, then everyone, listen! We will be having our first game this year! We are part of the 14th Busan games in Korea!"

(hehe)

Delight and amuzement filled the air as everyone rejoiced at the good news. Nobuhiro watched them all smile as the feeling of exitement rushed through their vains. But he had a bad feeling. He felt that he wouldn't see the smiles again. He shook his head and came back to his senses. No, it was just his imagination...it was just nervousness...

Or maybe not...

" Yoshi!!!" Sakuragi exclaimed, raising his hand swiftly at the air. Everyone did the same, screaming their hearts out.

" One more news." Nobuhiro added, silencing everyone. " We had a some kind of voting of who will be the coach, assistant coach, so on. If you have any violent reactions on our votes, please say it later."

" For our coach, it's Anzai-sensei. He quickly said yes before we could finish our explanation to him."

" Yatta! It's oyajii!!" Sakuragi silently exclaimed to Mitsui who was, um..never mind.

" Aka...no...Hijisawa-san will be the assistant coach." Nobuhiro continued, watching everyone's eyes for violent reactions.

" Because of that we decided that Ayako-san will be the manager." 

" Aya-chan!" Ryota exclaimed.

" Arigato, Nobuhiro-san." Ayako said humbly with a bow.

" We're sure you'll be a great manager to us, Ayako-san." Masaki said patting her shoulder.

" We believe in you." Toshiro added. 

" Haii. Arigato." Ayako replied bashfully. Ryota, who looked like a mad ninja now, was throwing death stares to Masaki and Toshiro who just sweatdropped.

" For this year, let us give the former Shohoku team a chance. I know they won't lead us to defeat. Is that alright with you, everyone?" Everyone nodded happily.

" How about you, Akagi? Mitsui? Miyagi? Sakuragi? Kogure? Rukawa?"

" Eh? Rukawa's with us too?" Said Kogure.

" I said "Former Shohoku team". Of course, Rukawa is included. Why? Do you have any objections?"

" Ah...none."

" Good. Akagi, you're the center. You're also the vice captain. Miyagi, Point guard; Mitsui, shooting guard, Sakuragi, Power forward, Kogure, point guard, and Rukawa, your usual, small forward. Let's practice hard today! we won't let any other countries beat us!"

" YEAH!!!"

Everyone started practicing again.

" Akane-san." Nobuhiro said.

" Nani? (What?)"

" What do you want to see last if it was the end?"

" Eh? What do you mean?" Akane questioned.

" I want to see smiles of joy."

" Captain, you're weird."

" I may be weird, but that's what I want..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was early dawn when Ayako woke up. She decided to have an early visit at the gym. She stood up and looked at her watch. 3:00 am. Guess it was too early. Still, she took a bath, dressed up, and picked her bag. She left a small note on her dad's room, saying that she left early. She cooked her breakfast and sat on the table, and started munching some octopus weiner, which was beside some veggies, a little bowl of rice, and a cup of coffee.

She opened the TV and watched the Early Morning News ( well, that's what I recall ^.^).

~ Flash Report. There was said to be a prisoner who escaped from jail. The prisoner was said to be jailed because of attempting to kill a person. Luckily, the victim was still alive. The victim was said to be Hisashi Mitsui, a national member of basketball team. During December 26,the prisoner killed one man at the same cell and broke his way out of the police station. We warn everyone. This man is already insane, according to witnesses...~

Ayako banged her cup of coffee at the table. surely, that was Tamura!!! He's seeking revenge. Now there was really a reason to go to the gym early. She should inform Nobuhiro ahead before it's too late...

" Nobuhiro-san usually arrives at quarter to three at the gym!!!! I need to hurry before..." an image of blood darkened her sight. She shook her head as she rushed towards the gym, huffing and puffing, at the same time hoping that it isn't too late...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

" Ah...the place is a mess. Well, I need to clean it up since I'm the only one here." Nobuhiro said as he swooped the mop on the floor. 

_" Why Captain?! Itoe is a good player! Let him join! As a brother, I can't take this anymore!!!" Kiyoshi said, shaking the confused captain continually._

_" I'm sorry, but I can't. Good isn't enough for me." Nobuhiro said, trying to hide the troubled feeling._

_" Captain! I can't believe this...I DIDN'T KNOW THAT YOU ARE SO COLD HEARTED!!!" Kiyoshi ran outside the gym, not minding a car rushing by..._

_SCREEEEEEECCCHHHHHH!!!_

_" Kiyoshi?" Nobuhiro ran outside, panicking. He then spotted his friend/member, lying on the ground, swimming in his own pool of blood._

_" KIYOOOOOOOSHHIIIIIIII!!!!"_

" If only I had listened to what he was saying, and gave Itoe another chance...It wouldn't reach to this far..." Nobuhiro said to himself. He then stared at the mop he was holding.

" A mop...just like before..."

_" Ne, ne Nobuhiro-san! I'll be a great player like you and Kiyoshi-onichan!!!" Young Itoe exclaimed ,looking very excited._

_" First, you should mop the floor several times to shine like diamond." Nobuhiro said, picking up a mop and handed it over to him. ( He's still a new member these times...)_

_"Eh? Why should I do that?" Itoe asked._

_" That's part of the training. If you can't polish the floor until it shines like diamond, you won't be a great player." Kiyoshi said._

_" AH!!! Is that so? I better be starting!!!"_

Nobuhiro started to mop the place before the gym door. If only they could, rewind the time just like a tape. If only he listened...If only this and that. He can't do anything now. It's a throbbing fact that he needs to face...

At that moment, he saw a recognizable man standing at the gym door.

" Ito-Itoe?" Nobuhiro glanced closely to confirm if the man's really Itoe or not. Without second thoughts, he ran to him. He was really Itoe.

" Itoe!! I'm so glad you're out of the-    "

BANG!

Itoe shot Nobuhiro on his arm with a PK-Ammo. The bullet pierced through his skin, causing it to bleed badly. Nobuhiro shouted in pain as he knelt on the floor, grimacing in pain. Itoe walked nearer him and aimed the gun at Nobuhiro's head. Just when he was ready to shoot, Ayako came by, running as swift as she could.

" CAPTAIN!!!" She shouted, making Itoe stop. She then looked at the scenery with shock. She barely made it in time. But still, the problem isn't finished yet. 

" A-ayako-s-san...?" Nobuhiro questioned weakly, slowly standing up. Ayako ran beside him and helped him stand up.

" Itoe-san. Please stop this none-sense now!!!" She said, hoping that Itoe's insanity wouldn't bear to anything wrong.

" You...you..."

" STAY OUT OF THE WAY!!!" Itoe shouted, shooting her ankle, causing her to fall with Nobuhiro.

" Don't include her here!" Nobuhiro exclaimed, using his left effort to stand up. He tried to take Itoe's gun away to avoid harm, but he was fighting back.

" My brother... died...because of you...all of the things you did to me....will surely go back...to you!!!!"

Itoe was the one who had more advantage because Nobuhiro's arm was shot.

"Hehehe...now say something!!! Say something before you die!!!!" Itoe shouted, finally knocking Nobuhiro out.

He didn't stand up.

" Leu...." His voice was out of range now.

" What?!?" Itoe questioned. " I didn't hear!!!"

" Leukemia. You had leukemia. Your mother told me not to recruit you, even if I wanted to...she said that if you do hard activities like basketball, it could lead to your early death!!!"

" Uso...( That's a lie...)" Itoe said with disbelief. 

" It's true."

" Usotsuki!!!!!!!!!!"

He then aimed shakily at Nobuhiro, shocked of what he heard.

" You...you're going to die!!! N-no...I'll finish her first. S-so that when you go to hell, the only thing that you remember is death!!! Painful death!!!!" He said, changing his target. Ayako looked at him with fearful eyes. She then shut them, preparing for the worst...

Bang!!!

She then opened her eyes slowly, seeing Nobuhiro before her. He blocked the shot and was struck at the chest. He slowly fell down as Ayako eyed him, tears falling like beads.

" NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"

" Nobuhiro-san! Hold on!! Hold on!!!" She exclaimed, helping him.

" A-Ayako...c-call for help...save y-yourself...and...I-Itoe..." Said Nobuhiro weakly, as blood trickled down from his lips.

" Don't say things in that tone!!! You'll be saved!"

Nobuhiro pushed Ayako away strongly, but not harshly.

" GO!!!"

" I...can't..."

" Go now!!!"

Ayako was forced to hop by one foot towards the door outside. Itoe nearly attacked her, but Nobuhiro reached for the mop and whipped Itoe's foot.

" Aya-ayako-san!!!" Ayako looked back. 

" T-Today is the l-last e-episode of m-my f-favorite T-TV p-program....wa-watch it f-for me...okay?"

" Just promise me you'll be there at the 14th Busan games!!!" Ayako said, as tears fell more on her cheeks.

" P-promise..."

Ayako smiled as she continued on...

" G-Guess the m-mop c-couldn't shine t-the floor t-today like d-diamond...."

BANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ayako managed to hop from the gym to the nearest phone booth. There she dialed the number of the first person that came to her mind, Ryota. 

" Haii....Ryota desu... ( Hello, this is Ryota)" she heard through the phone.

" Ryota!!!"

" Aya-chan? Oha-"

" Quick! Go here as quickly as possible!!! Bring Akagi and the others with you!!!"

" But, why?"

" Just do it!!!"

After succeeding her call, she lost consciousness...

Afterwards, Ryota, who did as Ayako instructed him to do, rushed to the gym. Just then, they saw her lying at the phone booth, her foot bleeding badly. Ryota quickly carried her and planned to bring her to the hospital, but then, she refused. She said she wanted to see what happened to Nobuhiro.

As they were in the gym, it was dead quiet.

Ayako explained in detail what happened, as she was crying bitterly. Ryota comforted her by telling her it's not her fault, so she doesn't need to cry. 

Then, they reached the gym and quickly ran inside.

" I hope Captain's alright..."  Said Sakuragi.

"Everyone's hoping." Mitsui corrected.

Just as they were walking, Mitsui felt something under his feet. He instructed Kogure to open the lights. Then, it was revealed. Itoe was there, lying on the ground, with blood covering his face and body. Haruko screamed while everyone was shocked. But what really shocked them was Nobuhiro, lying next to him, with gunshots marked on his body. One thing was confirmed after a few moments...

They're both dead...

=(=(=(

Akane walked from the door, in her usual jumpy mood. She then saw everybody and tried to greet them.

" Minna!!! Ohayo gozaimasu!!!!" She then noticed that their actions are different. " Ne, minna...doushita? (hey, what's wrong?)"

She then dropped her bag when she saw what they were looking at.

" What's th-this?" She asked, her eyes getting baggy.

Akagi went beside her and patted her shoulder.

" He's...."

" Acting, isn't he?" She said with a happy tone, but deep inside, she was worrying badly. "Ne, h-he's a-acting...isn't he?..."

She looked at Sakuragi who just turned away. Then she shifted her gaze at Kogure who avoided showing her his sad emotion. She looked at Rukawa as he turned around, and to Ryota who just bowed his head. She then returned her gaze at Akagi, who looked slightly ready to explain a painful fact...

" No...he's..."

Akagi explained to her slowly what happened. After a moment, he noticed her expression turned into a sad one. He then looked away...

" O-oda...?" She said, as she fell on her knees. " This is just a p-play...isn't?" " Oda? O-o-okiro....OKIRO!!!! (wake up!!!)" She screamed as tears fell from her eyes.

" DDAAAAAARN IIIIIIIIIITT!!!!!!!!!!"

....And finally..._DEATH_

Author's note:

Aww... a saddy chappy..... 

Anyway, there's no much time..... Ja ne!!! see you at the next one!!!!! Let's just all pray for Nobuhiro's soul....


	11. To him

Author's note:

Yagh! At last our terror exams are finished! Well, off to our intramurals now (I prefer calling it Intrams...but...oh well...)!!!! I'll be playing one of our country's traditional (yet super fun) game, namely tiyakad (in English, slits). Oh!!!! I'm sooooo exited!!!! Minna, wish me luck! My other whicky whacky super duper tense tomodachi authors are taking part too (of course, it's our PE grade, everyone on the class MUST join). Just like Raei D@gger, whose game is basketball!!!! Go Raei!!! Be like Ryo-chin!!!! (hehehe, she's a point guard ^.^) And A. Pikachu's playing patintero, another traditional game of our beloved country (^.^). Go!!!!! Section six is the best! Ganbatte, minna!!!!

This chappy is for my beloved, member of my KKK + 69 crushes, R-U-K-A-W-A!!!! Since his birthday is near, I'd be really happy to dedicate my whole life and soul to this chappy!!! Oh, Rukawa-san! January one is very near!!! I'll light a million lusis, fountains, firecrackers, blow lots of horns and bake a dozen cakes for you!!!! I'll even present myself as a gift for you!!!! Rukawa-san!!! Rukawa-san!!! God, you look so cute, Rukawa-san! Or should it be Kaede since were already...you know....( Blushes and shakes her head)...Oh! How could I say this in public!!!! 

Bag!

Minami: Stop daydreaming and get back to work, you baka neko postcard!!!

Hagaki: (sticks out her tongue) Hm! Don't boss me around!!! ( Then spots Rukawa passing by)

Both: RUKAWA-SAN!!!

 Note than this sign--- (*)= flashback starts/ends

Disclaimer: Slam Dunk is the property of Takehiko Inoue-sensei. We are just borrowing it.

**Chapter 10: To him... **

****

Blinding white dresses flooded around the burial of the National Team's beloved captain, Nobuhiro Oda. Fans, family, friends, teammates, and even the Prime minister came to this distressing event, all with sad, grieving eyes. With those same eyes, they stared at the peach white colored coffin, with streaks of gold at the sides, and a small sash on the top, showing his name. One by one, his last minute visitors placed their flowers on top of his coffin, whispering some things they should've told him before. After that, he was lowered 6 feet down on the ground and was covered with dirt and soil. There was a note beside his name, saying this:

This is our beloved team captain and friend

Who wanted as his last wish...

To see smiles...

The smiles of victory...

The smiles of Joy...

_Which was not granted _

Slowly and solemnly, people left the place, one after the other. Surely, no one would forget, Nobuhiro Oda.

Because of this, Akagi moved forward in being the captain, which was also under Nobuhiro's wish. ( If you remember him saying that Akagi would be the vice-captain). 

" We've got this fill-up from to be able to register on the up-coming Busan games. I'll distribute this to each and every one of you. You need to pass this to me not later than twelve." Akagi said, showing the fill-up form he was holding. Ayako helped him distribute the forms.

" Oh yeah, where's Yohei? He's been missing for quite a while now." Takamiya told Sakuragi.

" Hm.. now that you've said that..." He said.

" I also notice Haruko-chan's been missing for some time too." Noma said.

" Could it be.." Ohkusu said. 

" It couldn't be!" Sakuragi exclaimed.

" Before complaining, fill up your form first." Takamiya said. Grunting, Sakuragi grabbed a pen and started writing.

Rukawa looked at the form he was holding. He then answered it without saying a word. He then stopped after he wrote his age. He wrote 21. But he was already a year older...his birthday already passed, the same time when the firecrackers and other fireworks displayed beautifully in the sky...

Yes...a year older...

(*)

 Rukawa entered the gym in his usual mood, wearing normal jeans, shoes, shirt, and jacket while listening to the music being played in his walk man. It was December 27 that day. He then yawned as he went to the locker room and changed his dress. The moment he stepped out of the locker room, he spotted a happy Ayako, a grinning Akane, an interested Nobuhiro, a glad Ryota, a normal Akagi, a blushing Haruko, an irritated Sakuragi, the guntai (without any expressions at all), a bothered Kogure, and a smiling Mitsui. 

Rukawa sighed. Maybe it's one of those surprise happy birthday parties. Well, it's not a surprise now. They were too obvious. He then decided that he'll peek at what they're doing, even though he was already 99.9% sure that it was a surprise party planning.

" What are you doing there?" He asked at a questioning tone, using his height to peek at the object of their attention.

He was then shocked at what he saw.

It wasn't a birthday party planning. What he saw was a baby picture album.

" Yo, Rukawa! Care to join us?" Ayako said.

" We're looking at some of the pictures of Ayako's nephew. Look, he's so kawaii!!" Akane said.

Rukawa just refused and brought a ball with him outside to practice. But how could that be? He was so sure about that.

After he had left, they all sighed.

" Good thing Ayako quickly took out her nephew's album or else..." Akane said.

" Good, cost is clear now." Ayako said as she flipped the pages of the album. She then stopped on the page where her notebook was placed. She then pulled out two pictures from the notebook.

" Haruko, good job on these." Ayako said with a wink.

" It was so hard getting those from his mom! I mean, it was hard thinking of the right words to say to his mom...." Haruko said, as she blushed more. 

Sakuragi : (veins popping out) (with Kogure and Mitsui calming him down :)

" Anyway, Rukawa's really cute. But I didn't know that he was so cute when he was a child." Akane exclaimed, taking a picture from Ayako.

The picture was cute indeed. It showed Rukawa when he was around four or five. Behind him was the basketball court, and on his hands was the basketball. He was wearing basketball uniform (which drops on the sides because of his size) and his expression towards the camera is the same expression he shows currently, except for his rosy red cheeks.

The other picture was more **UN**likely of Rukawa. He was riding a horse on the merry go round, with a striped blue and white shirt, and a pitch black shorts. Besides from him looking cute and all, he was smiling. His smile isn't just the normal, small smile. He smiled like a really happy boy who had his toy at last. His set of perfect white teeth displayed beautifully, like rare pearls in the depths of the ocean.

Everyone laughed.

" His attitude before is the opposite of his attitude now." Said Ryota.

" It sure is" Assured Mitsui.

" But don't you think that maybe he'll get mad?" Asked Kogure.

" Daijobu, daijobu." Ayako said as she placed the pictures back on her notebook. " Rukawa won't get mad."

" Hn! Why do I have to do his stupid thing for that cocky kitsune?!" Sakuragi shouted, waving his hands violently in the air.

" Everyone needs to take part! And this is just once, Sakuragi! PUHLEEESSEE?!!!!" Ayako pleaded.

" No! You lady-go-"

The guntai pulled Sakuragi back to prevent him from doing something to Ayako (and to prevent him losing his teeth like Mit-chan ^.^;)

" Ah...he said yes..." They tried to say.

" Yare yare." Akagi said.

" Saa... let's continue." Akane said.

The next day, December 28, Rukawa received his normal amount of practice as usual. But then, he noticed that everyone was soft on him these days. After practices, many would offer him a drink or lend him a towel, if not, when he enters the gym in the morning, warm smiles welcome him. But then, as usual, he didn't react much. He thought that this was the part of that surprise party again.

The next day... it was a chilly December 29. But this didn't succeed in stopping the very determined party planners (^.^ hehe...) on their plans (huh? 0.o)

 " Okay! Minna! Let's start our 'OPERATION: CATCH RUKAWA'S ATTENTION '!!!" Ayako said happily as she asked Ryota to put two cards in front of Rukawa's locker (which he happily did). After that, they started practicing again.

" Go! Hanamichi!!!" Shouted Ohkusu, Takamiya, and Noma in unison as Sakuragi succeeded in making a dunk shot despite the fact that Akagi was guarding him.

" Yoshi!" Sakuragi shouted. " Haruko-san! Did you -huh..?"  He then noticed that Haruko was AGAIN missing. The three shook their heads. " Even Yohei is missing." Takamiya said.

" But he was here a while ago." Ohkusu said.

" Maybe..." Noma said in a mischievous smile.

" NO! NO! NO!!!!! That's just a coincidence!!!" screamed Sakuragi, at the same time giving the poor blond a head butt on the head.

Late afternoon, everyone rushed in the locker room and quickly changed into their spare dresses. If Rukawa saw the two cards (invitation blah..blah) with his picture on top while they were there, the plan would be a mess. 

When Rukawa entered the locker room, everyone panicked and moved quickly. Others just stuffed their things in the bag, others not locking their lockers. Rukawa then walked in while the others swiftly walked out.

" What's the matter?" He asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

" Ah...you know...my grandma invited me to her house to have an important talk. Bye!" Mitsui said rapidly as he left.

" And how about you?' He asked to Ryota. " Talk with grandma too?"

" A-actually no." He said, fixing his bag on his shoulder. " You know, a family reunion...ehehe...." He said as he quickly left.

After Ryota left, he then looked at the next man leaving, Sakuragi, with the AND-HOW-ABOUT-YOU-? look.

" Me? Well, the mother of my cousin which is the brother of my auntie and the bestfriend of my grandma which is the mother of my uncle which is the brother of her maid and the brother-in-law of my cousin which is the grandma of her grandpa of her brother of her sister of her servant of her uncle of her mother- in- law decided to have tea with me in their house near the swamp which is the base of the...."

" Urusai, do'aho. That's enough." The irritated Rukawa said. Sakuragi left, leaving the others with their own reasons of why they would be leaving early (with reasons that were TOO obvious) until they were all gone ( but they were hiding somewhere to see what happens...) 

Rukawa sighed heavily as he walked to his locker. Obviously, this was part of that party AGAIN.

As he changed his dress, he noticed two cards with a familiar picture on top. recognizing that it was him when he was still a kid, he picked up the card.

" Look! He got it!" Kogure said in a whisper.

" Where?" Ayako asked out of nowhere.

" Ayako-san?" Sakuragi said.

" Ayako! This is the men's locker room! You're prohibited here!" Mitsui exclaimed in a whisper.

" What's wrong with that, sempai?" Ayako asked.

" You girls are prohibited!" Mitsui repeated.

" Mitsui..." Kogure said, tapping his shoulder.

" What?" he said, irritated.

He then pointed a very...very mad Ryota.

" Ah...you could stay...." He said, turning blue, remembering his false teeth...

Rukawa then looked at the card closely. After a few moments, he took the picture off from the card and left the card on the ground, not even bothering to look at the content of the card.

" What did he just do?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!! He spoiled our plan!!!" Ayako exclaimed, panicking.

" Daijobu, Aya-chan. We'll just talk about it tomorrow..." Ryota said.

The next day, December 30, Ayako rushed to the gym, panicking.

" Minna!!!!!" She shouted (Rukawa isn't there yet...).

" Ayako-san!!!"

" We were talking about the..." Kogure started.

" The notebook! The notebook with the plans!!! I lost it!!!!!!" She screamed.

" NANI?!"

" I'm sorry...I'm really sorry...I'm sorry..." She said, bowing several times.

" No, it's just okay. We'll make another." Akane said.

" But the time's running out." Akagi said.

" We'll just do things randomly, darn it!!! Whatever comes into your minds tomorrow!!!" Ayako said.

" But..."

They were then cut short by Rukawa, who just entered the gym, with his usual look, with his walkman, plain blue shirt and pants, rubber shoes, national team jacket, and his Just-awakened hair look.

December 31, time's really... really short. Rukawa noticed his teammates with big bags or plastics this day. He then sighed. This darn surprise party which was too obvious again...

Oh well...let them be.

As usual, practices again, teaching his old teammates basics (again), game with captain and the others, so on...

Later afternoon, he was forced by his teammates to go home early, even if he didn't want to.

" C'mon now. Go home now. Your parents are waiting for you." Ayako said.

" But..."

" No buts or excuses, go home now and sleep tight." Akane added.

Okay, okay. They were so stubborn that he just said okay as an answer. 

This night, he said to himself, that party would happen. That surprise party that is not a surprise anymore.

" Yoshi, minna. Let's get started." Ayako said, as soon as Rukawa disappeared in sight. 

Akagi and Sakuragi's height were used to hang the banner in hard to reach places. Kogure, Akane, and Ayako herself (with a bit help of Mitsui) prepared the food. The guntai arranged the fireworks.

Despite this, they all also had a secret plan hidden inside them.

" Kae-chan? Why are you so early today? Anything wrong, dear?" Rukawa's mom asked, rushing to the door, helping her son in his things.

" Nandemonai, 'kassan. (Nothing, mom)." He replied, hanging his jacket.

" Hmm..maybe they have a really good reason, Kaede. Go take a bath now. I've prepared the tub for you." She said.

" Yeah." 

It was kinda fishy, though. His mother would usually prepare his bath later because he always goes home late.

Does his mother know something about the surprise party that is not a surprise anymore?

Anyway, whether she knows it or not...

It's not a bad thing at all.

" I almost forgot!!!! Who would fetch Rukawa if everyone is busy?!?!?!" Ayako shouted, panicking terribly. She then looked around and saw that everyone was too busy. She then sighed heavily. " WAAAH!!!"

Mitsui held the seat where Akagi stood, hanging the decors. 

" Akagi! Don't ever fall over or I'll kill you!!!" Mitsui exclaimed, specs of blue covering his face.

" Really?" Akagi said mischievously. He hen leaned a bit that made Mitsui shut his eyes tight and whimper in fear.       " And how about that huh?" Akagi laughed.

" Darn you gorilla!!!" Mitsui said, turning red.

" Move,, move, move!!!" Sakuragi shouted, carrying lots of boxes with him. He ran past the annoying Akagi and the mad Mitsui, causing Akagi to fall on Mitsui's back. (Poor Mit-chin...)

" Ehehe, gomen!" Sakuragi exclaimed as he rushed towards the place where his guntai was waiting.

" Hanamichi! help us here, 'kay?! You're just fooling around!" Noma asked.

" Hai hai!!! Wakkatta teba, baka!" Sakuragi shouted, banging the boxes on the floor.   
" Wait...is Yohei here...?"  he added.

" Umm...yeah. What's the matter, Hanamichi?" Yohei asked, facing Sakuragi while fixing a banner.

" Yohei, tell the truth. Why are you disappearing with Haruko-san these days?" He asked sternly,  eyeing Yohei madly.

" With Haruko-san? What're you talking about?" Yohei asked.

" Haruko isn't here, Hanamichi." Takamiya reported.

" Haruko is still in the house because our mother asked her to do something." Akagi said after recovering fully. (How about Mit-chin? ^.^)

" See? It's just a coincidence that we disappear together." Yohei said. Sakuragi let out a sigh as he continued fixing, leaving the others behind.

Yohei then looked at Akagi with a 'thank you' look in his eyes.

" Darn, darn, darn!!! Who the hell would ca-" Ayako then spotted Hagaki walking outside.

  
" Hehe...I know now." Ayako said.

Hagaki: Huh?

Later...

" I'll do it! I'll gladly do it!!!!" Hagaki exclaimed .

" Yoshi! Now go there and fetch Rukawa!!" Ayako said, patting Hagaki's back.

" We'll go." a group of girls said.

Hagaki turned blue as she saw who they were.

" Anatatachi!!!! (You guys!!!!)" She screamed.

It was her friends, A. Pikachu, Raei Dagger, Silent X,  Kanzeon, Koujyo, and even her sister, Minami.

" We'll go with her." Raei repeated.

" It's because we know that she'll do something..." A. Pikachu added.

" Really..." Silent X said.

" Really..." Kanzeon said.

" Really..." Koujyo said.

" STUPID!!!!" Minami exclimed.

Hagaki (chibi) cried.

" You ruined my plan..."

Rukawa, after taking a relaxing bath, dressed in his pajamas and seated in front of the TV, watching the " NBA Greatest Games". He was waiting for those to come in his house. He already knew the flow of their plan. It's just like studying an opponent's tactic. It was exactly quarter to twelve now.

DING DONG!!

There they are. He then turned the TV off and opened the door.

" Konbanwa, Rukawa-kun." Greeted Hagaki and  the others.

" Ano..." Hagaki stammered, turning beet red.

" She wants you to go with her." Raei said.

" Raei!" Hagaki exclaimed.

" Okay." Rukawa answered.

" Okay...what the-" Hagaki and the others exclaimed.

" Kaede? Who's that? The mail-oh! Please come in!" Rukawa's mom said. 

After changing, Rukawa went with them without any complaints.

When they reached the gym, it was dark.  You could hardly see anything. It was only five seconds before twelve. And then...

" Happy...!"

" Birthday!"

" New year!"

" Hey that should be birthday first before new year!!!"

" No!!! New year before birthday!!!"

It was a mess. Since the plan was crammed, it wasn't performed in order. The others had a plan on their own. Later, what they were saying were things like "HAPPY RUKAWA" or " BIRTHDAY NEW YEAR" or some silly things like that.

Rukawa just couldn't help but sigh and _smile _secretly so no one would notice it.

It wasn't boring after all.

It was fun.

Later on, they fired firecrackers and enjoyed the food, drank liquor (even Akagi now), and enjoyed the rest of the night. (Haruko came in too.)

It was a happy, exiting, and downright funny happy birthday for the brunette, fox, ace player of the team, the now 22 year old, Kaede Rukawa.

(*)

Rukawa couldn't help but sigh when he recalled his birthday. At exactly twelve noon, he passed his form to Akagi, the paper with a mark of liquid paper, that was written over it was: AGE: 22.

" Captain." He said to Akagi.

" What?"

" A year older means another ten years for you to beat me." Rukawa said.

After that, Rukawa left and practiced again, leaving a smiling Akagi behind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Author's note:

So how was that? I was happy when I finished this. New year is near minna! Don't forget to greet my Rukawa a happy birthday! Don't forget your resolutions. Let's welcome 2003 happily and live life to the fullest! 

**HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!**

( WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING BETWEEN YOHEI AND HARUKO? FIND OUT!!!)


	12. Fly away and Drive today

Author's note:

Hagaki: Maa...maa...Minna. To tell you the truth, I'm disappointed that NOBODY reviewed at chappy 10. SIGH That's Rukawa's B-day!!!!! I'm so disappointed...

Anyway, something urged me to still continue. What? It's because THIS is chapter ELEVEN!!!!

This is also my first time to use someone's POV on this fic.

Minami: Minna!!! Onegai! Review!!!!

Disclaimer: Slam dunk belongs to our idol, Takehiko-sensei. ^. ^

**Chapter**Eleven:Fly away and drive today

Everything is already assembled for the upcoming Busan games. From the transportation sponsored by the government, the hotel accommodations, to the new uniforms and banners for the team. Everyone was so excited, specially our new captain, who trains his members agonizingly hard, telling them the feeling of victory (even to the former members who just smile at the new captain's respectable dreams and words), explaining to them everyday that if they win, this and that, if not, this and that...

Meanwhile...

" Na, Yohei. Are you coming with us? The government said that the plane ride would be free. They also said that we could bring our friends or families." Sakuragi asked as he walked the streets towards the gym.

" Um...maybe. I don't know." Yohei said as he turned in a corner.

" Oi, oi! That's not the way to the gym!" Sakuragi exclaimed as he caught up with Yohei.

" Relax, Hanamichi. We'll just go to our house to get something that can help us a lot." Yohei said.

" Eh?"

Yohei just smiled and left Sakuragi with a 'what's-that?' face.

" Hey, are you comin' or what?" Yohei said.

" Ah...yeah. I'm coming!" He said as he followed Yohei to their house, which was three blocks away. 

When they reached the house, Yohei opened the first garage located at the left. There, he revealed a Toyota TM car. It was beautifully colored with a brilliant shade of black, the tires simply neat, and the inside was colored with a magnificent shade of blue.

Sakuragi pressed his face at the window to see the inside clearly. He was so amazed that his mouth was left open until Yohei opened the door at the driver's seat.

" Hanamichi? Are you riding or not?" Yohei said as he started the engine, opening the passenger's seat door beside him.

" Ah...y-yeah." He muttered as he sat beside Yohei and closed the door.

Sakuragi remained quiet as Yohei drove out of the house, opening the aircon and the radio.

" You're thinking how the hell I got this car, right?" Said Yohei, giving off a small laugh.

" True", replied the (very) baffled Sakuragi. " How the hell did you get this stuff? I mean...it's so cool..."

Yohei giggled as he turned right on a corner.

" Actually, I don't know if you'd believe me or not, Hanamichi, but I've got this baby after the graduation ceremony. I finally passed all my grades with flying colors at that time. My parents were so proud of me that they gave this as a gift." He then looked at Sakuragi, looking at him with disbelief (as in).

" Hehe...I know how you feel Hanamichi." He said with a smile. " I decided to change my way of life a bit so that I can reach my dreams easily. Just the same as you practicing everyday, to be recruited on the national team and be hopefully an MVP. I've become serious in my studies at college, without you, or the other three (Sakuragi guntai: We heard that!) being aware. " 

" But…why did you just said this now?" Sakuragi protested, finally recovering from his shock.

" Actually, I planned to tell this to you guys earlier, but I couldn't find a nice timing." He explained as he stopped when he saw the red light.

" Hm ...now the Tensai knows." Sakuragi said, as if he knew the fact very well for a long time. Yohei: Sweatdrop;

" But, Hanamichi. This isn't the only secret I've been keeping." He said as he minimized the volume of the radio.

" You are a basketball player aren't you? Well, I'm..." He said as he released a sigh and started to continue his sentence, watching Sakuragi carefully for any protests. 

" I'm actually...a...racer..." He finished.

Sakuragi then looked at him, with the same expression as a while ago." A racer?" he repeated.

" Yup." replied Yohei.

" I never knew you liked cars, Yohei." Sakuragi said as he leaned back at the seat.

" That suits you anyway. So...that second garage at the right of your house is where the race car is kept?" He asked as Yohei started to move when he saw the green light.

" Yeah."

" You're really a professional now, Yohei." Sakuragi said.

" So are you, unlike what we are before." Yohei said, a picture of them goofing around flashed in his mind that made him grin.

" And another thing...about Ha-" Yohei was then silenced. He shouldn't tell that to Sakuragi, or else his friend would burst like a volcano. He then looked ahead, acting like he hasn't said anything. Luckily, Sakuragi didn't hear Yohei's voice.

As they where already 10 blocks away from the gym, Sakuragi halted Yohei to a barbershop nearby.

" Doushite, Hanamichi? (What's it, Hanamichi?)" Yohei asked as he eyed his friend going out of the car.

" Some small business here. Be back in a flash," He said as he entered the barbershop. Yohei smiled as he crossed his arms behind his head and leaned to the seat to support his back. It was too obvious why Sakuragi went in there. He's going back to that funny hairstyle of his when he was still a freshman of Shohoku senior high. (Hagaki: Honestly, he looks more mature when he has his hair shaved {No other deep meaning})

He almost slipped in his words a while ago. About Haruko. He didn't want to shock his friend more.

Minutes later, he saw Sakuragi opening the door and hopping in, with that match-like hairstyle of his.

" It's been a long time before I've seen that funny hair of yours, Hanamichi." Yohei said, nearly laughing.

" Urusai." Was all that he could say as Yohei started to hit the roads again, both listening and tapping their feet at the beat of the song 'Anatadake Mitsumeteru' sung by Maki Ohguro. (^. ^)

Later on when they reached the gym (Yup, as you have guessed, with everyone shocked with a do'aho with that funny hair again, riding a car with his cutie friend with him^. ^ (Sakuragi: Nyahaha! The Tensai needs some ride sometimes! Nyahaha!!! /Sweatdrop/) ( Other members: Hahaha!!!! You .look so funny! HAHAHAHA!!! Continues to laugh very hard...) Practice as usual, (not really usual, it was only about 10 times harder than usual ^. ^), punches from Akagi's raging fist, slaps from Ayako's fan, teasing from his guntai, support from the others, and all the usual things that happens (without Nobuhiro-san of course :()

" Remember that our game is near. This game is not only for our pride but for our country's as well. Whatever happens, whether we face victory or defeat, we are still winners, for we did our best." Akagi said as the others were assembled in front of him.

*Akagi's really a captain now. * Said Masaki, panting and sweating from the hard practice that day.

* Yes. Now I know why Nobuhiro-san chose him." Replied Mikatsu after drinking from his water jug.

* That's Gori. * Sakuragi said.

" ...And I hope you understand why we need to practice hard everyday. Yoshi! Minna, practice again!!!" Akagi cried out as he raised his fist on the air.

" YEAH!!!!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*

After two weeks of hard practice, towels almost soaked in sweat, aching muscles, and terrible offense practices, the moment of truth has come, the moment the former Shohoku basketball players are waiting for (Minus Rukawa of course, he's been on the team longer), their National debut. Their hearts pounding, just like on that day, May 10, when the inter-high games started (ooh, that's Akagi-san's b-day!!!) They already drove their way to the airport (with the PRIVATE bus provided AGAIN by the government), on board was the team, Ayako, Anzai-sensei (well, if you still remember what Oda-kun said about Anzai-sensei's approval as coach), Haruko, the towel boys (gomen for the term), and some other friends of the other players.

Meanwhile, at the airport...

" Wait...what flight was that? Um...23? Or was it 24?" Takamiya said, question marks appearing from his head.

" I don't know..." Noma said, scratching his head.

" Darn! Yohei knows it...by the way, where is he?" Ohkusu asked.

" Who knows?" Replied Noma.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*

*Yohei's POV:

Darn it! Would I go? But there's an important meeting informing us about the race! What should I do...

* wipes the window of his race car*. Hehe, I didn't know that being a racer was this fun, but hard. Your schedule is very tough... *looks at his watch* Oh my gosh! The plane's gonna depart soon!!! Think now, Yohei...Think...

...

* Picks up his bag and other things* Darn! Might as well go!

*

Yohei started his car (the other one, the Toyota one) and drove out of his house and off to the streets. His speed was normal, but when he looked at his watch, it was 5 minutes more before the plane departs! He cursed as he saw the traffic before him, banging his fist on the steering wheel angrily.

" Darn! Darn! Dammit!" He exclaimed. " I can't make it in time. If only race-" Then, something entered Yohei's mind. It was an idea, half good, and half bad. He thought twice if he should do it or not.

* But I'd break the rule if...nah, who cares? I'm a rule breaker since before!*

He then turned right at a small alley, his speed very high, and on his face, a wide smile.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*

 The team finally arrived at the airport. They were then treated as VIP's there, since they'd represent their country for basketball. 

Each member is allowed to bring guests, not exceeding the maximum number of three. Akagi brought with him his mom, his dad, and Haruko (of course). With Sakuragi: His mom, Yohei, and Ohkusu. With Rukawa, his mom, and, believe it or not, Sendo and his mom!!! Mitsui brought his Mom and dad with him, while Kogure brought his grandparents and Takamiya ( since Kogure has a warm heart, he let Takamiya fill the only slot left). Ryota brought his mom, his dad, and his little sister with him, and Ayako brought her brother, Matsuii, and Fujii (with the same explanation as Kogure's why he brought Piggy ^.^) with her. Coach Anzai brought his wife and Noma (no need to tell the reason why...). The others brought their families as well.

" Where the hell is HE?" Sakuragi exclaimed as he noticed that Yohei wasn't there.

" I don't know. Is he coming or not?" Okusu asked.

" Hmm.."

* Yohei-kun...*Haruko said in her mind.

" Okay, everyone! Let's board the plane now before it leaves us!" Akagi called out.

" But gori, wait a minute. Yohei's not yet here. Can we wait for him?" Sakuragi said, halting Akagi by grabbing his arm.

" We can't, Sakuragi. This is the last plane that would bring players from Japan to the Busan games. If we can't depart now, there'll be no other plane that would bring us there." Akagi informed.

" But-"

" I know how you feel, but please understand my point." Akagi said. He then looked at Haruko who just absentmindedly stared at the floor, hoping...

As the former ganster, now racer Mito Yohei drove his way out of the small alley and into the main road, he was then filled with hope as he spotted the airport before him. He even drove faster (and recklessly) his car towards his destination, repeating in his mind that he could still catch up. It was already 2 minutes before the departure of the plane, and he grew very worried.

As he parked his car on the car park abruptly, he then swooped at the back and swiftly grabbed his bag, then ran inside the airport. A minute to go before departure. After hurrying the security checks, he then happily ran on the place where he would finally ride onto the plane. But before he could even ride, he saw an airplane took off. He then looked at his watch. Could...that be...the plane? He then brokenheartedly stared at the plane until it was out of his sight. He was left, and that's for sure. He didn't make it.

He wont be able to watch his best friend's most awaited day, the day he was talking about since his friend and he were still freshmen...His friend's...National debut...

And what could he do? He just smiled though it's against his feelings. There was still the race meeting. He then went back to his car and drove to the meeting place, which was very near the airport.

" Darn..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*

~ Attention all national players of volleyball and basketball, flights are delayed due to an important meeting by one sport whose decisions of joining the games are still jumbled. Please wait for further announcements regarding when the flight would be back...repeating...~ 

" Phew...we could still wait for Yohei." Sakuragi sighed as he sat on a chair behind him.

" I wonder what sport that is?" Ryota asked as he looked at his watch. " And I wonder what time would we depart?"

" Let's just wait for the announcements." Ayako said. " By the way, why is Sendo here?" she continued.

Sendo smiled as he waved to them. " Hello! I've learned that you'd be fighting other countries! I just decided to go with you guys. I want to see how you're playing now!"

" But why with Rukawa?" Kogure asked. ( Hagaki: Believe me, it was not my idea to put some SenRu here, it's my sister!!!!) ( Minami: Hehe...)

" My mom and Rukawa's mom are friends, so Rukawa's mom said that we could join them, since there are two slots left, ne, Rukawa?" 

" Hn.."

" Hmm...I see...By the way, why aren't you at the National team? Isn't it that you're a great player?" Akagi asked.

" Actually, I was recruited by one local team first before I was recruited at the National team. And when I knew that you guys are recruited there, I decided to stick with the local team..." Sendo said

" WHADDYA MEAN?! YOU DONT WANT TO BE WITH US SINCE YOU'RE GREATER?"

" No...ah..it's not that...It's because I know that even if I'm not there, there are still great players in the team, ne? Besides, I don't want to disappoint the local team who recruited me."

" Ah...okay... fine...."

* Hm...what are they doing at the plane now? I bet Hanamichi's goofing around again...* 

" Guys, I've been thinking about this since yesterday, about the one we would send to the Busan games for the race competition. ( Actually and honestly, I don't know if there's racing in Busan or not....Anyway...) And I know that I'm not wrong in choosing this person...."

Everyone in the meeting room started to whisper things like: " Who could that be?" something like those, to each other.

" ...And that'd be...you!" the coach said as he pointed at Yohei, who was looking outside the window, daydreaming.

" Mito Yohei!"

Everyone clapped their hands as Yohei was called, for they know that he was a truly great and unbelievable player. Despite this, the unbelievable and great player was still out of his mind.

" Mito Yohei!" The coach said again. * What the hell is happening to him?* The coach then walked near Yohei. " Mito Yohei!!!"

Yohei finally came back to his senses and saw all the people staring at him. " E..doushite, minna?" 

Everyone nearly fainted when he said this.

" You mean to tell that you're not listening?!?!" The coach asked.

" Um.. I'm sorry..."

" Never mind, never mind. As I was saying, you'd be the representative for the country for the race competition. You'll be flying today, since there's only one plane left."

" Me?"

" Yeah, you."

Yohei couldn't believe what he just heard. He could finally make it to the games! The only thing is, he's not with the same plane with his friends, but it's alright....( But he doesn't know...^. ~)

" Anyway, those who'd be with him are...." 

- Attention, all national team players of volleyball and basketball, flight would be resumed at 12:00. Repeating...-

" Hmm.. that's pretty near..." Ryota said, looking at his watch.

" Why? What time is it?" Mitsui asked.

 Ryota showed him his watch that read 11:49.

" Anyway, lets go now. Get ready." Akagi said as he picked up his bag.

* Yohei's still not here...* Sakuragi thought.

Meanwhile, the race team is already at the airport. Yohei was with his team of mechanics, with Mr. Honda (He's supposed to be in another show!!! Anyway...), and the others...(Don't know much about racing..hehe..). And, believe it or not, the race team PASSED BY the BASKETBALL TEAM without even noticing each other. ( idiots...except Rukawa^.^)

Time: 12:00

All the teams have boarded the plane to Busan. On the front part of the plane was the race team, the middle was the basketball team, and on the back was the volleyball team.

The seats where arranged by the 2-3-2 order. Coach Anzai sat at the side with his wife, behind him was Ryota and Ayako, behind them was the mom and dad of Mitsui, behind them was Mitsui and Kogure, behind them were Masaki and Toshiro, and at the very back was Sendo and Rukawa. Let's go at the middle. They're at the front, Akagi's mom, dad, and him. At their rear were Ryota's mom, dad, and little sister. Then, seated behind them were Haruko, Matsui, and Fuji. Behind them, Yohei's supposed-to-be-seat, Sakuragi, and his mom. Then, there were the three extras (Takamiya, Ohkusu, and Noma: We heard that!!!!), the other players, and their families. At the side, Akane sat with her mom, then Ayako's Brother with Yujii, then Kogure's grandparents, Sendo's and Rukawa's mom, Ryo and Mikatsu, and the other players. (Phew!)

A few minutes later, they were already at the middle of their flight. Sakuragi decided to answer nature's call. He then walked towards the comfort room. Unlucky as he was before, the comfort room was occupied. Still he decided to wait. Subsequently, there came a girl from the volleyball team, who was also unlucky to see the CR of females occupied. The girl then decided to wait too at the front of the door.

Sakuragi then felt that his eyes wanted to drop.

The reason?

The girl was so beautiful.

She stands 5'5, beautiful shade of blue seen on her cute eyes, her jet black hair tied on two pigtails, her lips as pink as rose, her skin as white as snow (Nope, she's not Snow white ^.^). She wore her jogging pants and her jacket, which read " all-Japan Volleyball team", inside was her blue shirt, and on her feet were the Nike rubber shoes for women.

She looked so beautiful...more beautiful than any girl he has seen.

" Wh-what's...y-your name...?" He absentmindedly asked, not even noticing that he said it so loud that the girl hear it.

" Me?" The girl said, pointing at herself. " I'm Takeshima Midori" ( Hehe, meaning green bamboo island...). She then noticed Sakuragi's jacket written National team (all-Japan) and a basketball drawn at the center. " So, you're the member of the basketball team, right? You're...what's your name?" She asked as she smiled, her pearly-white teeth displayed.

" Hu-huh?" Sakuragi said, getting back to his senses, turning scarlet.

" Are you paying attention, Mister? Are you okay?" Midori asked.

" Y-yeah."

" I'm asking for your name, if you don't mind..."

" Oh...I'm Sakuragi Hanamichi." Sakuragi said.

" I've heard about you in high school..the trouble maker? But I'm really impressed. You're great!" She said.

" Really?" 

" Yup." Suddenly, the door of the female CR opened. " Oh, my turn. Tell me more about your team when we get to Busan." She then closed the door.

" Midori...so that's her name..." Sakuragi said as the door behind him opened too. The guy who exited looked at him with questioning eyes. " What the hell is this guy doing?"

After a few more minutes, they finally arrived at Korea. They were then greeted by hundreds of Japanese who were waiting for them, waving banners and placards. They spotted there the students of Kogure, Akagi, Miyagi, Ayako, and Mitsui, some Rukawa fans ( not his shinetai), and all others who were their former teammates in Shohoku.

" Hanamichi!!!" Midori called out.

" Oh, it's you." He said (his courage now back again).

" Hello! Um...is it okay if I call you by your first name?"

" Uh..yeah. Can I call you by your first name too?"

" Sure!"

" Hanamichi..who's she..?" Takamiya asked, nudging the flaring Sakuragi.

" You double-timer!" Ohkusu and Noma exclaimed. Sakuragi then head butted each one of them.

" Double timer? So..you have a girlfriend? Oh, I'm terribly sorry-"

" No, It's not that. They're just mistaken." Sakuragi stammered. Midori just smiled as she was called by her teammates. " Oh, they're calling me now. I've heard that the hotel where the volleyball, basketball, and race team stays are the same. I'll just find you there, k? Bye!" She said as she waved her hand high in the air.

" Race? So that means..." He then glimpsed Yohei from afar. Taking his second glance, and knew that it was really his bestfriend, he ran towards his direction. 

" Yohei!" Haruko and Sakuragi said in unison.

" Oh! It's you two!!!" Yohei shouted. " You waited for me?"

" Nope...actually, we departed at 12 because...AAHH! So you're the team we're waiting for!!"  
" Uh..yeah.." He said. He then noticed a very happy Haruko behind Sakuragi. He then smiled at her as she smiled back. Sakuragi: QUESTION MARKS

Anyway...the day turned out to be really nice, Yohei with them, the team finally at Busan, and a new interest...

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Author's note:

Hagaki: Haaa...finally, chapter Rukawa finished....

Minami : D'you like it? How was it? I believe that this is our BEST chapter!!! Of course! It's no. 11!!!

Hagaki: Correction, best SO FAR. Anyway, What d'you guys think about Midori? They are a cute couple, are they? Sakuragi's hair is red, Midori means green. Look at the color wheel. What do you get? Red and green faces each other!!! Hahaha! I think Midori-chan's name is cute. GREEN BAMBOO ISLAND. And maybe you guys know some hints about Yohei and Haruko. Those without common sense are the only ones who don't know... JA, minna. Gotta go and make my experiment or that damn KUROI BUTA NO BAKA would get mad again. 

^.^ R&R PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	13. Shoot me a Kiss!

Author's note:

Hagaki: Minna!!!! Ogenki desu ka? Sorry for the jumbled date here. Anyway, I don't know when the Busan Games really started. So for those who know, I'm sorry I have to change it. I hope no one would get mad if I do this.

Minami: Guys, I want to test if you really are tuning on to this fic. What month do you think are we focusing in? September? April? Or is it June? Read and find out!

Hagaki: If ever you see some SenRu here, believe me, it was my sister who suggested every move. I was just the one who wrote it and described it. If you see some other yaoi here, it was ME who thought and wrote it.^^ We warn you now, this' gonna be mushy.

Disclaimer: Slam dunk IS OWNED by DR. T!!! We are just borrowing it!!!!!!!

**Chapter 12: Shoot  me a kiss?!**

****

The vivid morning sun touched the blue colored cloth hung on the window of the hotel. Day 2 in Busan. Yesterday was the opening of the games. As usual, there was a parade of all of the teams from each Asian country.

Everyone was still asleep, in their dreams of winning, dreams of victory, dreams of happiness, and dreams of love. 

Wait...love?

Today was February 14th, day of hearts, day of love. Everyone who had his or her loved ones was waiting for this day.

Ayako yawned as she stretched her arms and legs lazily; her curly chestnut brown hair was a mess. She muffled a tired "ohayo" ('morning) as she stood up and washed her face at the sink, comb her hair and brushed her teeth.. She then returned and stared at the calendar that was hung on the wall that made her smile. What could happen today? What kind of adventurous happenings (hehe^^) would she see? She laughed at herself as she woke up Haruko, Matsui, Fujii,  and Akane.

" Hm..what the heck...oh..Ayako-san..." Haruko said as she rubbed her eyes groggily.

" Wake up now, lazy heads. It's a nice weather today..." Ayako said as she opened the curtains, revealing...um...a sky that was slightly dim. "...ne..."

" Are you saying something?" Akane said as she saw the dim clouds from the window of the hotel.

" Ah..I-iie...Nandemonai...(ah..no...it's nothing). " Ayako said as she grabbed her dress and entered the bathroom to dress.

There were 10 rooms given for the basketball team at twenty-third floor. Each room has divisions. Two to three small parts with either 2 single beds or a queen-size, depending on the person who sleeps there. There was a mini guestroom at the middle, and a little kitchen opposite it. Maximum persons who can sleep per room are 6. 

Mitsui, Kogure, Sendo, and Rukawa shared room number one. One part for Mitsui and Kogure, who had two single beds. That goes for Sendo and Rukawa too. (believe me, it was my sister's idea to put some...something..)

For room number two, Sakuragi and Ryota shared one part of the room (just like MitsKo) while Akagi was alone at the other part of the room (who would like to share a part of the room with a GORI?!?!)

For room number three, Toshiro, Yujii, Masaki, and Ryo.

For room number four, Anzai-sensei with his wife and the other coaches (except Akane)

For room number five, Ayako, Haruko, Matsui, Fujii, and Akane.

For room number six, ( the smallest guest room with a king size bed), the three eggs, namely Takamiya, Ohkusu, and Noma (hehe^^)

For room number seven, Sendo and Rukawa's mom, with Ryota's mom, dad, and sister.

For room number eight, Akagi's mom, dad, and Ayako's brother.

For room number nine, Kogure's grandparents and Mitsui's parents.

And last but not the least, Room number ten that was occupied with the other players' parents/family members.

 This goes with the other teams, too. Yohei's room was at the twenty-fourth floor, while the volleyball team's rooms were at the twentieth floor.  (Phew!)

Every team member slept peacefully, despite those others who were nibbling another's foot, half of the body on the floor, WHOLE body on the floor, indecent snoring, and weird sleeping postures.

" Midori-san...." Sakuragi mumbled as he was slowly falling from his bed.

" Aya-chan..." Ryota mumbled too, whose foot was out of the comforter. 

Ayako slowly crept to peek what were the guys doing. She dragged with her a sleepy Haruko, whose only intention of going there was to wake up Akagi.

" Hehe...look at them. Very messy!" Ayako whispered as she laughed softly, peeking at Ryota and Sakuragi. " Lets see what would happen if I scare them...?" 

" Ayako, I'll just wake my brother up okay? BE back in a flash..." Haruko said as she walked towards the other part of the room where Akagi was sleeping.

" Hm! She's just afraid of the outcome of this alarm clock..." Ayako said as she stuck out Akagi's picture who was zoomed in 5 times. ( Chibi Ayako blink twice, then laugh) "Anyway, might as well go...."

" Onichan...okiro." Haruko said as she tapped Akagi on his shoulder. Akagi budged slightly. " Okiro, onichan...oki-"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!"

Akagi bolted up as he heard the piercing screams from the opposite part of the room. Even Haruko froze.

" What the hell is that?!" Akagi said as he thundered his way towards Ryota and Sakuragi's room. Even Mitsui, Kogure, Akane, and the others rushed inside the room.

" What was that?!" Mitsui exclaimed as he banged the door open.

" Is everything alright?" Kogure asked.

" I dunno. It's coming from Ryota and Sakuragi's direction." Akagi said as they all went to see what happened. 

" Okay, okay...what's the fuss all about? We're trying to get some sleep here and this is what you do." Mitsui said continuously as he entered the room, scratching his head in dismay.

" Ah...Mitsui-sempai..." Ayako said as a mischievous smile crept on her face.

" Ayako...but why are you here?" Akagi asked. He then looked at the two who looked as if they saw a ghost or something. They were at the corner, pinned at the wall.

" Hehe...I just woke them up by this..." She said as she held up Akagi's picture zoomed up 5 times that made almost everyone's spirit jump off their bodies (except Akagi)."  I think the effect was too much.." She said as she looked at the two at the corner. "Gomen nasai, Akagi-sempai..." Ayako said, watching Akagi flare.

" That...was...horrible..." Sakuragi said as he slowly left the wall, still blue all over.

" S-sure...is...." Ryota said.

" Why you...!!!!" Akagi exclaimed as every player held him back from hurting Ayako, even Ryota who was already awake.

" Akagi!!! Don't you ever hurt Aya-chan!!!" Ryota said, making a wall-like defense (hehe) in front of Ayako.

" Maa..maa…Akagi…slow down!!!! It'll ruin valentine's day." Kogure said as he pushed the burning Gori back.

" Oh, that reminds me. Today's Valentines, ne?" Mitsui said as Akagi slowed down.

" Hmp! But this would be for once only." Akagi said as he was finally released. Minna: Sweatdrop.

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

" Hahaha!!! So you're scared because of Gori's picture?" Yohei said as he burst into laughter. They were eating at the restaurant below the hotel.

" If you see his face, you'd really turn blue!!!" Sakuragi said. " And don't wannasee that picture ever in my life again!!!" He added before shoving a fork-full of fettuccini on is mouth. (YUM!)

" Haha... oh, by the way, tomorrow's our first game. Four o'clock. Don't forget to watch, ne?" Yohei informed.

" Yeah." Sakuragi replied, helping himself to some iced tea.

" Ah! Hanamichi!!!" Midori shouted from behind.  
" Oi..Hanamichi. There's Ms. Pretty girl again. Remember that's today's valentines." Yohei said as Sakuragi jumped from joy from his seat to Midori.

* Yappari (there's no doubt) its Valentines today.* Yohei thought as he took a sip from his coffee.

" Hanamichi! We have our first game tomorrow! Twelve o'clock! Can you come?" Midori asked, overexcited.

" Sure! I'll go!!!" Sakuragi said.

" Neat! Wanna go out today? Or are you too busy?" Midori asked.

" Uh..no. But it's raining outside…"

" Oh…I almost forgot.."

" W-wait! We could go to the mall!" Sakuragi suggested.

" That's right! Lets go!!!" Midori said as she pulled with her a very happy Sakuragi.

" Hanamichi's unbelievable. Imagine a very beautiful girl suddenly appeared and now they look so close." Takamiya said, appearing out of nowhere.

"Unberibaburya!!! (Unbelievable!!!) " 

" Hikoichi?!?!" The Guntai said in unison.

" Hahaha…konninchiwa!!!! (Hello!!!)" Hikoichi greeted. " I heard that Sendo-san was here, so I came along. Where's he?"

" Hm…maybe at the court near this hotel." Yohei informed.

" Thanks!!! See you guys later." Hikoichi said as he waved his hands.

" Ja. Take care now."

" Everyone!!!! Let's practice!!!" Akagi said.

" Akagi looks more confident now than before, isn't he?" Sendo said to Ayako, whom were both leaning at the court wall.

" Yup, coz it's not only for the school, but the country." She replied.

" Yappari." Sendo said, crossing his arms over his head.

" But I wonder what would happen now? I'm sure the others won't agree on having a practice on this occasion…"

" Huh?"

 " Where's Sakuragi?" Akagi asked, searching for the red head in the crowd.

" Um…We don't know…" Kogure said.

" Darn that guy." said Akagi, wiping his face in dismay. " Anyway, let's start-"

" Practice again? Give us some time now, Captain!" Complained Ryota.

" Yeah. We're sick and tired of these. One day-off would do." Mitsui said.

" See?" Ayako said to Sendo. Sendo: Sweatdrop^^

" But-"

" Don't you have a heart, Captain?"  
" Akagi!"

" Just this once!!!"

" C'mon now!!!"

" Please?"

" Captain!"

" You-"

" ALL RIGHT!! ALL RIGHT!!! JUST. … ARGH!!! OKAY FINE! BUT JUST THIS ONCE!!" Akagi said, wavering his hands on the air like a criminal who surrendered to the police.

" Yeah!!!" Everyone rejoiced as they left the room. A heavy sigh was all that Akagi could do.

" Rukawa? Why are you still here? And even you, Sendo?" Akagi said, noticing the two.

" I'll still practice." Rukawa said as he picked up a ball. "Do you want to play? One-on-one?" 

" No thanks. I guess I need a holiday too." Rukawa nearly fell as Sendo laughed. 

" Come to think of it…haha! The way you defended practice awhile ago! Hahaha!!!" Sendo laughed more that made Akagi steam red.

" Anyway, if you're going to practice, Rukawa, There's Sendo. Bye." Akagi said as he left the court, leaving an aggravated Rukawa behind.

" Well, That's also my idea." Sendo said as he finally separated his back from the wall.

" If that's so, I better practice myself." Rukawa said, walking away from him and to the other side of the court.

" Oi, oi! It's not because I'm at the local team and you're at the NATIONAL team, you're better than me!" Sendo said as he caught up with Rukawa. " Wanna try me?" Sendo asked, a grin forming on his face.

Rukawa looked at him as his yes.

" If ever you lose, you'll regret it for your whole life." Rukawa said as he held the ball on his right hand.

" Well, sorry. I'll never lose." Sendo said as he readied his defense. " Better show what you've got, that great play that drove me serious, Rukawa Kaede, the formerly so-called 'Super Rookie'."

" Shut up." Rukawa said as he started dribbling the ball. Sendo still had this annoying grand defense, that made Rukawa perspire. 

" See? I'm not rotten yet, Kaede." Sendo said, teasing Rukawa by calling him in his first name.

" Better shut that goddamn mouth up and never call me by my first name." Rukawa said as he nearly escaped Sendo's defense.

" Whoa...that was close. And why not?"

" Just shut up you, or I'll kill you."

" You cold blooded fox! You never change, do you?" Sendo said as he blocked Rukawa's shot. Luckily, Rukawa caught the ball again.

" Don't make me mad, you hedgehog, or I'll really kill you."

" Aw…kill me? Hehe…I know you couldn't do that. Today's valentines!" Rukawa's eyebrows met furiously at the middle of his forehead.

" Sorry, but there's no Valentine lovey-dovey for me." He replied.

" Oh, you're really a cold blooded fox." Sendo said as he was half fooled by Rukawa's fake.

*Darn! He's good! I can't escape this way* Rukawa thought.

" Tell you what…" Sendo said as he stopped his defense. Rukawa did not pass this opportunity and ran swiftly towards the goal and slammedthe ball on the hoop.

" What? Why d'you do that? Are you giving up already?' Rukawa asked, quite shocked from the sudden halting of Sendo. He was then more stunned when he saw Sendo walking nearer him. ( This IS MINAMI'S idea and even though it hurts me to write it, I will for the sake of the readers!!!)

" What now?" He asked uncertainly. Sendo didn't answer. He walked nearer until they reached the wall. He then rested a hand on the wall as he looked at those deep blue eyes of the man before him.

" What the- " Rukawa said as he turned crimson as Sendo tilted the coy fox's chin, having a better glance at his reddening face. Rukawa was helpless to just look away from those deep blue orbs just like his..

" Don't look there." Sendo said as he tried to fix Rukawa's face on his gaze again. But to no avail. Rukawa protested even more. Nevertheless, Sendo traumatized Rukawa even more. He placed his hand on the waist of the very embarrassed Rukawa and pulled him closer.

He couldn't help but close his eyes and prepare for the worst. Prepare for the darn hedgehog before him.

Afterward, a mischievous smile creep on Sendo's face. Then, the smile turned out to be a hearty laugh that made Rukawa open his eyes abruptly.

" So you're joking me." Rukawa said, his crimson cheeks still burning hot.

" I should've brought a mirror!" Sendo said, his eyes teary from laughing. He then freed Rukawa finally.

" Darn you."

" Don't be mad now, Rukawa. That was just one good luck gift and practical joke for a serious person like you. But I gotta admit you look cute." Sendo said frankly.

" I have no time for hentai's like you." Rukawa said as he walked out, leaving a hard laughing Sendo behind.

" Sendo-san! Sendo…ah! Sendo-san!" Hikoichi said as he saw Sendo laughing. " Ah, why are you so happy, Sendo-san?"

" I made a fox turn red!" Sendo said as he laughed harder.

" Eh?" Hikoichi said, sweatdropping.

A few hours later, it was already 5:30pm. Ryota decided to bring Ayako to the great views in Korea, the park were different kinds of lovely flowers bloom.

" Oh, it's really nice here, Ryota." Ayako said as she bent to look at the cute carnation she saw.

" Glad you liked it." He replied.

" By the way, our first game would be on Friday, ne?"

" Yeah." Ryota said. " C'mon, lets watch the sunset. They say it's really nice to watch the sunset here."

" Sure." Ayako said as she excitedly held Ryota's hand as the walked their way to the near beach. When they got there, there, there were a surprisingly high number of people, so they decided to go to the part of the beach that was not occupied, the rocky place at the right side.

" Aya-chan…I wanted to tell you this before, but I couldn't find the right timing…"

" What's that?" Ayako asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible. He then stood up and gazed at the sun nearly disappearing from his sight.

" I…" He said as he breathed in. " If we win as the champion in the Games…I'll…" He said as he looked at her waiting eyes. " I'll marry you, if that's okay with you."

Ayako nearly jumped from joy. At last! He finally said it! He finally had the courage to ask!

" You know what…" Ayako said as she stood up from the rock she was sitting on. " No matter what, my answer would always be this…" She said as she planted a soft kiss on the middle of his cheeks and lips. " I'll be looking forward on that day." She added.

" Is…this…true…?" Ryota asked himself, bewildered in the fact that she actually said YES in a sense and even kissed him for the first time.

" It's very true." Ayako said as she beamed happily, gazing at the " It's unbelievable" expression of Ryota.

" YATTA!!!!!" Ryota shouted, jumping and shouting all the time as if he won the first prize lottery. "YATTA!!!!!!!!!!!"

" Yohei-kun?" 

Yohei then turned around to see Haruko, smiling at him. " What are you doing here?" She asked.

Yohei looked at the distance from the top of the hotel. " Nothing, just loved the view here." He replied.

" Do you think we should tell Sakuragi-kun about this? I mean, it's not that easy to hide it."

" I know now when to tell him without hurting him."

" Huh?"

" Anyway, this is for you." He said as he handed out three red roses to her with a box containing a ring in it. " This is my valentines gift for you."

Haruko smiled, as she turned slightly pink.

" Thank you." she said as she accepted the sweet offer.

" It's nearly time for dinner, Mitsui." Kogure said as he fixed his bed, straightening the sheets.

" Yeah. It's nearly time." Mitsui replied as he sat on his bed opposite Kogure's. " Haa, a boring valentines day. Last year I got a love letter from the sisters of my students, but it was also boring." he added.

" Speaking of students, in my class, two persons are often teased as a couple. I can't blame them, for they look somewhat…cute together. And you know what? One time, I accidentally saw these two at the back of the school…"

" Doing what?" Mitsui said as he was thinking of..

" Don't get hentai, Mitsui.^^. They're just kissing, that's all." Kogure said as he blushed a bit when he remembered the scene he accidentally saw.

" Kissing...that's all." Mitsui mocked. " You speak as if it's just a small fact for you but deep inside, you're an innocent person who is not used to talk about these things." 

" Oh, just shut up." Kogure said. " Well, that reminds me that we are twenty four years old but we still don't have girlfriends…"

" Take Ryota out, he has one already."

" Okay. Most of us are not interested in relationship things (hehe, what about that guy before you?). Even kiss-"

" Hey, hey." Mitsui said as a mischievous idea entered his mind. " How about trying it?"

" What the heck! Mitsui!" Mitsui then inched his face close enough to see Kogure's nervous eyes. He then smiled as he shifted his gaze to the cute guy's lips. 

" Hehe, this won't go too far. I just saw a tiny speck of dirt here in your glasses-"

Out of the blue, the door opened that made them surprised. He accidentally fell on Kogure because of shock.^^

" Dinner is ready gu-" Akane then saw this doubtful scene before her. " ..uys…What are you doing?" Mitsui then bolted up.

" Ah! I just fell because I tripped on this…" Mitsui then saw a shoe on the floor. " This…hue…er…shoe!"

" Ah…I thought you were doing something."

" W-we? Do something? Akane-san, what made you think that way?" Kogure said, releasing a forced smile.

" O..kay. Well, see you guys at the restaurant below. Anzai-sensei's treating us."

" Ja!" The two said in unison.

After Akane left, the two stared at each other, one with a very bothered expression, and the other with a smile.

" Darn you!!! THAT was close! And…I felt it.." Kogure said, steaming red.

" Felt what? Ah! So you felt it too? The accidental *KISS* when I fall over you. Isn't that great? At last you've experienced it! You wouldn't be left behind! You wouldn't be jealous on your students anymore."

" Haha…very funny of you." Kogure said as he even burned redder. " Anyway, let's go now and eat."

" Matte!!!" Kogure then impeded when he heard Mitsui call him.

" What's tha-" He was then tugged on his wrist and bumped into a sweeter kiss than the accident a while ago…

Kissy kissy!!!

Author's note:

Hagaki: Wai! A Cutie chappy ne? Kissy kissy!!!

Minami: Wow! Way to go! Did you like all the SUPER SWEET parts?

Hagaki: Hope they did. WAAA! I couldn't believe I wrote a SENRU here because of MINAMI!!! Waaa! But it turned out cute.

Minami: Urusai! At least it turned out SUPER CUTE!!! This fic is totally superb!!! Did you see a lot of pairings? Like SENRU, MITSKO,RYOAYA, and even our own made combination YOHARU and a SLIGHT SAMIDO. 

Hagaki: I loved the MITSKO and RYOAYA the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Minami: Oh, that's enough!!! Anyone, please continue reading our next chapters and don't forget to review!!!Ja!

Hagaki: Ja Minna!!!

Happy Valentines!!!!

For the gals: (especially Raei!!!)

Books

Before

Boys!!!


	14. For as you practice, I watch, and you wi...

Author's note:

Hagaki: Minna-san! Hello! If you see some weird country names, that's because we don't want to offend any country, so we made code names for each.

Minami: Yup.

Hagaki: Hope all of you guys are still tuning in this fic. Thank you also for all those who reviewed. We appreciate them and treasure them in our hearts. ;)

Minami: Here's chapter thirteen.

Hagaki: By the way, these are our replies to those who reviewed (in the net or at school…)

The Reviewers: Well, sorry if you hate this fic. I'M REALLY SORRY!!!!! (Let me speak in Filipino, okay?) _Hindi ko alam kung ano ang point of view ninyo sa isang MAGANDANG fanfic. Magkaiba tayo, k? Kung nakokornihan ka, di fyn!!! Okay lang naman sa akin kung may magdiskriminate sa fanfic naming e, but please be picky with your words. Tsaka, anong magagawa ko kung nilagay ako ni Teril-er-Raei sa bio niya?!?!?! Isa pa, iba kami ng appeal sa tao. 100+ ang reviews niya at ako 29 pero okay lang sakin. Sorry kung nabababawan ka sakin at sorry rin sa galit na pinapakita ko. TAO lang po. Di ako perfect. Malaki man ang kahinaan ko, yun ay dahil gawa ng diyos at hanggang dun lang yung talent ko. _

akira: Hehe..thanks for the correction.

Bhuy: We have the same opinion. We made an OC because we thought that if HarukoXSakuragi, Haruko is too good for her. If HarukoXRukawa, Rukawa is TOO good for her. Since Haruko and Yohei look *CUTE* together, we decided that they'd be a pair and Sakuragi would have another girl.^^

Lorissa: At last! You gave my beloved folder back!!!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: SD belongs to Takehiko Inoue. We are just borrowing his characters. The only characters we own are Akane, the National team, and…nah. You know who are the others…

****

****

**Chapter 13: For as you practice, I watch, and you win**

****

-

Swirls of confusion encircled his poor head as he heavily fluttered his eyes open. He heard a soft, mellow voice call out his name, and the rest of the words he heard were unbearably blur. He then closed his eyes, gradually opened them, and felt something weird. Water…he had water in his eyes…it was flowing heavily. He was crying. He didn't know why. Noticing a familiar figure standing in front of him, surely…the worst is going to happen.

There was a vivid flicker of light from the figure's hand. Abruptly, the figure leapt at him that made him alarmed at the sudden movement. For some reason, he shifted his flustered gaze at the hand of the figure…it was an axe that shone brightly…its point looked utterly hair standing. Without any further ado, the figure let out a yelp of confusion and dug the axe straight at the man's chest. The man cried out in entire throb and cracked his fingers together at once. It was almost the end of the world for him when he saw the axe being dragged lower, causing a bigger wound on it. Blood violently gashed out of the panicking man, it smelled…it was painful…it was horrible…but why didn't he blacked out? But it was not the time to think of that; the figure opened the wound rashly that made him shriek a thousand times louder than before. The pain crept from the tip of his hair until the very end of his toenails…slowly…throbbing…

Afterwards, the most unbelievable happened…

The figure reached out a shaky hand to take - no- rip off the man's heart out. The man was too weak and was dying, therefore, he couldn't protest anymore…but then, he unexplainably felt the figure's feelings…it was as if he knew the figure for a long time… * I'm sorry...* he heard from the figure's lips. * I'm very sorry…*

After an excruciating minute, the man's heart was fully pulled out, and he was left lying at the floor, with blood, tears, and sweat…

The figure slowly left crying out repeatedly his sorry; on his hands were the man's heart…

* W-wait…*

He tried to get up, noticing little by little whom the figure was. He wanted to follow him, but to no avail. Instead of getting his feet flat on the floor, he accidentally thud his head heavily on the ground. He lost his energy…and finally collapsed…

* Don't die...I'm here…*

He heard another voice again, but this time, it was sweet and melodic. Who's that? He miraculously flung his eyes open and saw an incredible sight before him…an angel…

" I…am here…"

He then looked down and was surprised to see the wound healing. He felt a familiar beat on his chest.

Confirmed.

 His heart was back…

              ~~~~~~~~~~****^^^ ^^^****~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~****^^^ ^^^****~~~~~~~~~~ 

Sakuragi, Takamiya, Noma, and Ohkusu sat at the front seat, looking around for signs of other players around. This was Sakuragi's first time to enter a national stadium OF Volleyball, and the number of people who were in it amazed him. Today's game was the first game so far, the game of volleyball between the country A and Japan. He felt pretty nervous for Midori, since he haven't seen her plays yet, but he betted that Midori should be a great player, since he said that he's a tensai. (DUH!)

" Midori's not here yet!!" Sakuragi said restlessly, looking over the sign that blocked him from the court.

" Baka ne, Hanamichi. They'll still be introducing the players later, just like what they did to you before. Remember your old days in Shohoku high, when you were introduced first?" Ohkusu reminded, giving Sakuragi a Huh-what-do-you-think look.

Sakuragi took a little time before he could even react. *BLINK BLINK*

" Hahaha!! Yappari! HAhA!!! Eh-"

~ In a moment, the games would start. We demand silence from the crowd…~ an announcer said in English, then followed by a Japanese speaker who translated this, and other languages in Asia who did the same.

" Oh! They're coming!" Sakuragi said excitedly as he leaned forward on the sign that read "MIKASA, the official volleyball brand used in the 14 Asian Games" to have a better look at the players exiting from the two doors. He then quickly spotted Midori, who was wearing her Jersey number 9, her hair in pigtails tied in braids, two armbands, and two knee bands. Almost everyone in the court cheered heartily, welcoming the two teams, who lined up and faced each other, sparks flashing from their eyes and bumping into the sparks from the opposite team.

" A and Japan had a good fight last time, right?' A person said from behind Sakuragi, whose ears grew in hearing interesting news.

" Yup. And from that day on, they were rivals."

"This' gonna be a nice match."

 ~ And now, the players…. From Japan…~

" Oh! Here's the annonce thing!" exclaimed Sakuragi, choking Takamiya in excitement.

" It's announce, not annonce." Ohkusu corrected.

" Hanamichi baka…" Noma said.

" Nani?!?!"

" I-iie...nandemonai…."

~ Jersey number 9, Takeshima Midori. ~ 

Midori then stepped out of the line, clapped the hands of each member she passed by, and then went to her position on the court. Spotting Sakuragi and Company at the front seats, she smiled at them and waved her hands happily.

" Midori!!!! Ganbatte!!!!!" The guntai and Sakuragi said in unison.

" HAII!!! Sankyuu ne!!!" She replied as the names of the other members were announced.

~ And now the players from A…~

After all the members were introduced, the referee then called the captains to choose between heads or tails. He then flipped the coin without any further ado and it showed heads. It was Japan's ball. 

Midori was the first to spike. She then prepared for a shocking attack to be thrown at the opposite team. Silence filled the stadium as she threw the ball in the air, and with a heavy and strong slap (sorry for the term^^), the ball went straight to the other side. The A'ans were unable to hit it, for the impact of the strong spike was too powerful. 

It was Japan's first score!!!!!

~ …And there you have it folks! Unbelievably, the rookie Takeshima Midori displayed a magnificent super spike! ~ The announcer boomed happily as the all-Japan volleyball team rejoiced, clapping their hands together victoriously.

" Midori-san!!!!! Sugoi!!!" Sakuragi cheered, raising a fist in the air. Midori waved at him as she positioned herself at the service line, holding the ball excitedly on her hand, waiting for the moment-of-truth whistle.

" She's so great, Hanamichi!" Takamiya said as he pushed the record button at his camera, focusing it on the grinning girl at the court.

" Of course!" He said proudly, as if Midori was his long-life girlfriend. ^^

" Oh, by the way. Yohei's match would be later." Ohkusu remembered, staring at his watch.

" Yeah." Noma said as he relaxed on his seat. " Just like Hanamichi, he's a sportsman now."

"*A-CHOO!*" Yohei sneezed abruptly, causing his teammates to nearly jump off their shoes. Yohei grunted and sniffled, not minding Haruko drop by. "Who the hell is talking about me?!" He said as he scratched his head and started fixing the machine of his car again.

" Yohei-kun!!!!!" Haruko exclaimed, running happily to the pit house of the all-Japan race team with a big plastic of snacks and refreshments.

" Oh, it's Haruko-chan." Mr. Honda said in surprise as he arose from his seat, leaving the unaware Yohei behind.

"Honda-san! Konnichiwa!" Haruko greeted happily.

" Konnichiwa!" Megumi greeted.

" Konnichiwa, Megumi-chan!" She said, spotting Yohei at their rear, his back facing her.

" Ah, Mito-san is a bit busy with his work." Mr. Honda reported after receiving a towel from Megumi. " By the way, thank you very much for your help here." He added with a bow.

" Ah, no. Its nothing. By the way, I brought some snacks for you guys. Here!" she said as she laid the bag on the floor.

" Honto Arigatou Gozaimasu!" Mr. Honda said merrily. " But, isn't this too much? I mean-"

" It's alright, Honda-san. It's just like a good luck gift for you guys later." She said as she twirled around to look at the place." It's really busy here." She added with an amazed expression.

" I think Mito-san is very exhausted by now and needs help. Better-"

" May I?" Haruko interrupted. Mr. Honda gave her an "OKAY" look as she heartily walked towards Yohei, bringing a bottle of Gatorade with her.

" Hmm…lets see…adjust this and…" Yohei mumbled, looking at the inner parts of the car. He then looked on the other side as a sweat rolled at his cheek. " Better check the other…" He then saw a hand holding a bottle of blue liquid (Since the flavah of the Gatorade was ice cool) at his front. "…Side…" He then turned to see a smiling Haruko.

" You're working hard as usual, ne?" She said as Yohei accepted the offer without any hesitation.

" Yeah…sort of. Anyway, thanks for this." He said, indicating the bottle. " Sorry I couldn't repay your help these days." Haruko shook her head that made her small pigtails fling from one side to the other.

" I don't expect that anyway. I did this on my own will." she replied as she wrapped her arms on his back. " I just wanted to help." Yohei couldn't help but smile.

" Well, what could I do anyway?" He said as he held her hands.

" Oi, oi! Its not bad to show love to each other but do it privately, would you?" Someone said from behind. Everyone laughed as they abruptly parted away from one another, faces turning crimson from embarrassment.

" Everyone, you destroyed their mood!" Mr. Honda said with a chuckle.

" Okay! Let's practice today!" Akagi exclaimed with supremacy. " We'll have our one on one, then tomorrow morning a practice game. Miyagi, you practice with Toshiro, Mitsui, you and Kogure (^^), Rukawa, you and Masaki, the others may take their pick, while you Sakuragi…wait...where's that fool again?!" Akagi asked, his head steaming again.

" Ah…he's not here…" Ayako said, looking around nervously.

" Darn that crazy, stupid monkey!!!" Akagi exclaimed as smoke released violently from his head. " Anyway, we'll go on with our practice." Everyone sighed an exasperated sigh as they all went to their positions to play one-on-one with their designated partners.

" Maa, maa…that Sakuragi is really a pain, isn't he, Kogure?" Mitsui asked as he looked at Kogure, who ignored him in return. 

" Hey…hey! What's the matter with you?" Kogure, as if there was no one before him, still didn't reply. Mitsui then thought for a while, and then smiled, remembering the *accident* last night. 

" You're just like a girl, Kogure! If you're thinkin' 'bout that *THING* yesterday, well, admit it, you liked it, didn't you?" Kogure then reddened in shame as his brows met furiously at the middle of his forehead. He looked at Mitsui terribly that if only looks could kill, Mitsui had died 3 seconds ago.

" Excuse me." He said grumpily, as if the person he was talking to was his long time archenemy. " What are we going to do? Practice? Or talk about this…*Thing*?"

" Okay fine…" Mitsui said in defeat as he positioned his defense. " Show what you've got!"

 Rukawa triumphantly succeeded in faking Masaki and gracefully dunked the ball on the hoop, leaving Masaki smiling gleefully behind, sweating feebly.

" Whoa…you're getting better and better." He remarked as he picked up the ball from the ground.

" So are you." Rukawa said as he picked up a towel from the bench and wiped his face. He then went back to the court swiftly and readied his defense. Masaki started to dribble the ball, change-of-pace style.

" Say…" Masaki said as he watched Sendoh from the corner of his eye. " That Sendoh guy was your rival when you're in high school, right?" Rukawa nodded slightly as an answer. 

" I've watched your games before. Your moves then were still reckless and unstable. But it seemed to be nice movement when that Sendoh guy was around. And let me tell you something." He said as he found a little gap that could open up as a big chance. " I was a Kainan player before. When Maki was a third year student already, I was in second Year College." He said as he moved to the left slightly, then to the right, faked a shot, and passed it under Rukawa. He then got the ball and pretended to do a lay up shot, which fooled Rukawa. But then, the moment his back faced the ring; (THE RING!!! ^^), he dunked the ball backwards.

" That was my favorite stunt when I was in high school. Neat, huh?" He said with a prideful smile after both of them landed on the ground. Rukawa remained silent as he mentally cursed himself for not being able to read Masaki's mind.

" Well, I want to see how the former rivals play. Why don't you challenge Sendoh, one-on-one?"

* Sorry but I don't want that perverted hedgehog…* " I disagree." Rukawa said.

" This' just once Rukawa. And I know he'd be a better practice than me."

" I still disagree." * I had one-on-one with him yesterday, but it turned out to be a stupid, goddamned one. *

" C'mon!" Masaki insisted like a child. He then walked near Rukawa and whispered something that made him look contented and persevere on having a match with Sendoh.

Seeing Rukawa's quick change of expressions, Masaki then went near Sendoh, wearing an exhausted, but blissful look. 

" Raise your hand" He demanded. Sendoh looked curious but he slowly raised his hand. 

" Like this?'' he asked, taking a second look at it to make sure that it was raised fully. Masaki then clapped his hand on Sendoh's and said, " He's yours. Finish the game for me."

" What?" He then looked at Rukawa who looked persistently scary. " Yare yare, what else could I do?"

Midori started a powerful spike as the whistle signaled her. It went to the other side where the A'ans started their play. They hit the ball three times, one with a spike, which brought the ball to Japan's side. Their captain, Tsukasa Mia hit the ball, followed by another player, then Midori's favorite stunt: the so-called super spike. The A'ans where unable to hit the ball because of its incredible speed. Another point for Japan. Now they only have 6 points left to win.

" Yatta!!!!!!! Midori-san!!!!!!!!" Sakuragi yelled, waving his hands like crazy.

Midori winked at him as she wiped her sweat with her bare hands. " This' for you, Hanamichi!" She shouted at him as she held the ball and prepared to spike.

" Y-You heard that?!" Sakuragi exclaimed with joy. " She dedicated that pike for me!!!" 

" It's SPIKE. Not PIKE." Ohkusu corrected.

" Pike is a peak, hilltop, or something like that." Noma added.

" WHATEVER!" Sakuragi exclaimed.

With one heavy blow, she sent the ball flying heavily to the other side. The amazing thing is that one player from the A'ans team miraculously hit the ball, and then the center hit it next, and then the player at the upper right corner spiked it, which the center and the upper left player of Japan attempted to block. Unfortunately, the ball missed their hands and nearly touched the ground. Good thing Midori's reflexes were quick, so she performed a swift, clean dig attack that surprised the A'ans. They were unable to respond the sensational attack that caused the Japan's road to victory easy by one point. Japanese players ran to Midori and cuddled her, congratulating her for her superior work.

" Midori-san!!!!! SUGOI!" Sakuragi yelled at the top of his lungs.

" Ossu! (YEAH!)" She replied blissfully, a bright grin shone on her face.

~ Charged time-out! A! ~

" Looks like the coach of the A'ans is getting nervous." Tsukasa said with a chuckle, thanking the one who handed her a towel. Midori drank hungrily on her jug, and then wiped her face victoriously. " By the way, Takeshima. You're doing great today even though this is your first time in the team." 

" Not really." She said humbly, her face turning crimson.

" Now that you mentioned it…ah! Is it because of some inspiration or what?!" a player said.

" Oi, oi! This is no time to think about these things guys!" Midori said, trying to change the subject. " What's our strategy…"

" Here we go again, Mr. Rukawa Kaede…playing one-on-one with each other." Sendoh said after changing into his practice uniform, the normal blue shirt and white shorts with his black and blue colored bass shoes, contrasting to Rukawa's dress which was a black shirt underneath a whitish-blue sleeveless, black colored shorts, and shoes (Still NIKE Air Jordan) with magnificent shades of black, white, and gray.

" Urusai. (Shut up) Just go on and attack." Rukawa ordered as he tossed the ball to Sendoh.

" Attack? So I play offense first and you defense?" He asked as he looked onto an irritated Rukawa.

" Common sense, hedgehog, common sense…"

" Just kidding!" Sendoh said as he started dribbling the ball with incomparable glee. He'll now play seriously, unlike what he did yesterday.^^ Surely, he's going to give the kitsune a hard practice.

" Look, this' gonna be an exciting game between aces." Ayako said as she stopped writing on her notebook. Everyone stopped too to watch the heating game between Sendoh Akira and Rukawa Kaede. 

" Sure is, Ayako-san." Akane said as she settled beside Ayako. *Akira Sendoh…if only I've recruited him earlier…* Akane thought as she cried (Chibi form).

Sendoh stood at the three-point line dribbling the ball, thinking of how to outsmart his long-time rival. After thinking of a stylish, vast plan, He then charged frontward and Rukawa followed him with a steady defense. He abruptly halted that made his spiky hair fling from left to right as sweat flew along with his hair's movement. He dribbled the ball under his legs and prepared for a shot, but Rukawa still had his fluid movements and attempted to steal the ball from Sendoh's hand. Alas, his hands met nothing but air because Sendoh dribbled two steps backward, to be exact, two steps backward to the three-point line. He then jumped but Rukawa, out of nowhere, blocked his hand on Sendoh's view that distracted him a bit. Little did he know that Sendoh did not attempt for a simple three-pointer only, but a fade-away-jump-three-pointer (so much for him, ne?). He rose from the ground higher by inches and tilted backwards, then finally released the ball. Still, Rukawa was persistent and jumped, hoping to even just tap the ball to lose it's balance. He succeeded it but was shocked at Sendoh's quick positioning for the rebound. The moment the ball bounced off the ring, Sendoh jumped victoriously and caught the ball right in front of Rukawa's very own eyes. It was almost a perfect dunk for Sendoh when, out of nowhere, Rukawa's hand tapped the ball and caught it by himself. They both landed heavily on the ground by their feet, panting and sweating, at the same time, thanking God for the fast reflexes that He gave as a gift. Without those, they wouldn't be able to block this, or do that.

" I'm…not… a… proletarian to not know these moves…mind you…" Rukawa said in between breaths, panting heavily.

" I know that…" Sendoh said, suffering from the same thing.

" It's one hot fight that is surely unpredictable." Akagi said with amazement.

" Ah…they're showing nice movements." Coach Anzai said, entering the gym door, startling everyone whose attention was on the game only.

" Sensei!" Everyone said in unison. " Chuusu!"

 Coach Anzai laughed his usual ala-Santa Claus one as Akane courteously offered him a seat, which he accepted whole-heartedly. Rukawa and Sendoh stopped playing to greet the old coach, but Coach Anzai told them to go on what they're doing.

The Japanese people rejoiced as their team won in the first game, 30-25. Everyone clapped their hands in delight as the players shook their hands filled with the spirit of sportsmanship and the virtue of being humble. After the greetings of congratulations and other things, people flooded the outside of the court and celebrated with the team for it's first victory and a step closer to the dream of every player in the game, _championship._

" Midori! Good job!" Sakuragi said as he clapped his hands heartily with Midori's, which in return, smiled gleefully. 

" Ossu!" She replied, clapping the other hand of Sakuragi. " By the way, I heard your friend Mito Yohei also has his national debut, ne? Both of us and he are experiencing the same thing!" she added.

" AAH!!! I almost forgot!!!!!" Sakuragi hollered as he quickly looked at his watch. It was exactly quarter to four. It usually takes fifteen to twenty minutes to reach the racetrack from the volleyball court. " We gotta go now or he'll fume hot!!!!" He said as he tugged Midori hastily with him, not minding the fact that she was being hurt by the tightness of his hold.

" But...wait!!!!" Midori halted as she finally released herself from his very tight grasp soothing her wrist.

" Ah...sorry 'bout that." Sakuragi apologized.

" No. It's not that. It's this…" She said as she pointed her dress. " I can't go to the racetrack with this sweaty uniform." she added.

" But we'll be late-"

" It's alright. You go ahead and I'll be right behind you guys."

" But…"

" Don't worry. I keep my word. Promise." she said as she patted Sakuragi's shoulder. " Go ahead!!! I'll follow right away!" she said as she quickly ran away and was lost in sight because of the number of people around.

" Let's go, Hanamichi." Noma said, tugging Sakuragi's dress like a lost child.

" Yeah." He replied as they headed for the taxi-waiting area.

Rukawa landed heavily on the ground, breathless, perspiring, and over-exhausted with the terrible one-on-one he had with Sendoh. He flung his head to the right, making his raven-colored hair swing gracefully as sweat flew with it. On the other hand, Sendoh sat weakly on the bench and quickly drank from his jug after wiping the hot perspiration trickling down from his forehead to the blazing warm cheek that was incredibly damp. Everyone was totally amazed of the result of the one-on-one. Within thirty minutes of time, both scored the 23 points with different kinds of showy styles that nearly kicked everyone's ass off. They were left bewildered and with questions like 'are they human?' or some things like those.

" It wasn't a bad idea after all." Masaki said, fully contented with the result. " Ace against ace…. darn! I wish I've brought my cam with me!"

" Oh, it's alright. I've got it all here." Ayako said as she showed him her camera. " See?"

"Yoshi, that's all for today since you're already exhausted. But don't forget to come here early morning so that we could finish our practice game early." 

" Yeah!"

" Eat a good breakfast and never forget your warm ups. It would be a shame if Japan loses it' first fight." Coach Anzai said as he finally stood from his seat, his glasses shining under the gym light.

" YES!!!!"

" Hey, today's the first game of the race team." Said Ryota after he hung his dress on his locker.

" Hmm now you've said it…I wonder who's the player of our country…" Mitsui said as he popped his head on the blue and gray dress he was holding, at the same time, closing his locker using his back.

" We still have time to watch it." Said Kogure who was fixing his bag. " I'll go and watch." He added.

" Me too." Ryota said, hanging the bag on his shoulder and placed his dark blue (almost black) shades on his eyes. " Aya-chan is going too."

" Count me in." Mitsui said as he slid into his white and black jacket, plopped his blue baseball cap on his head, then inverting it.

" I'm all set, let's go." Kogure said as he opened the locker room door.

" Ossu!"

Yohei proudly polished his HIMMEZ: E.O., with a length of 4580 mm, a width of 1980mm, tranmission: 5 speed, and a top speed of 335kilometers per hour. The engine they were using is the standard engine, HM36DAST.

" Mito-san," Mr. Honda said, looking cheerfully at his watch. " It's time for the practice run." Yohei nodded as he slid his helmet neatly on his head.

" Ganbatte, Yohei!" said Haruko. Giving her a thumbs-up, he opened the door of his car he named " Hikari" or in English "Light", since when he first saw the car (he was in second year senior high then), it shined brightly as if the sun's rays stopped right in front of him. Amazed with the 'light' of the car, he decided to earn money for it since he made up his mind a week ago to enter the sports of racing.

" Remember, Mito-san." Mr. Honda said, bending on the car window. " If you want to win, you should beat your old record that is 1'19'190 in this practice run."

" Ossu." Yohei replied under his helmet. " I'll try."

Seeing the person in front signal him a go sign, he stepped on the gas pedal and drove off in an incredible starting speed. 

Author's note:

Hagaki: Yoshi! Chap 13 finished!!! Off to chapter MITCHIN!!!!!!!!

Minami: Yehey! Its Yohei-san's debut already!!! I just can't wait!!!

Hagaki: If you're wondering where I got Yohei's best time and the dimensions and name of the race car, you really won't believe it. (Or would you?!) Grand Turismo Concept 2001 Tokyo and Ridge racer V!!!! Hehe…I even played those two before I wrote this chappy (Of course!!!!) , and 1'19'190 is my best time so far…SO FAR!!!!! I'll beat my own record someday!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ja ne!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!^^


	15. Koko watashi wa de

Author's note!!!!!!!

Hagaki: Hohoho…! I'm getting possessed!!! Possessed by the demon of writing and imaginations and romance, humor, and YAOI!!!!!!!! Nyahahaha!!!!! (Glasses turn into pitch black and background color turns into blue and black lines)

Minami: Sweatdrop^^ Yare yare…she's really possessed…waitaminit!!!! You're laughing just like Sakuragi!!!!! And Yaoi?!?! According to my super authorRIFFIC senses de la Minami Ishigami…there's no yaoi in this Michin chappy!!!! I mean-

Hagaki: By the power of my super duper great brain!!!!! THERE IS a little teensy weensy (as in!) Yaoi hinty here!!!!!!!!

Wait a super milli-second of time…. why the hell am I speaking like this? Am I one of those crazy "super heroes" (small letter s^^) who spend their lives chatting boring lines and fly with usual red capes and wears those old briefs outside that creates a bad, BAAAD fashion statement and even a bad appearance and saves people who fall from buildings and get beat up by the enemy, and with an exaggerating one weak blow the enemy will quickly die?!?!?!?! Then they'll shout " (Put anything here like bat, super, pancake, toilet bowl, weirdo…) MAN" ?!?!?!

Minami: Calm the hell down, Hagaki!!!!!!^^

Hagaki: (Looks around, breathes, then finally comes back to her senses) Eh? Ah, gomen. I am just excited…

Both: Anyway, here's our CHAPPY MITCHIN!!!! Er-CHAPPY 14!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Some notes: The basketball court is closer to the racetrack compared to the volleyball court.

Disclaimer: Slam Dunk is the property of Inoue Takehiko-sensei!!!!!! WE. ARE. JUST. BORROWING. IT!!!!!!!!

**Chapter 14: Koko watashi wa de… (I am here…) **

****

*ZOOM!!!*

Hikari went straight at the finish line; bringing a loud and ear piercing "ZOOM!" with it.

" 1'19'-" Started Mr. Honda, indicating Yohei's practice time. He then stopped to take a second glance at his silver stopwatch. 

" A-re? I think I read wrong…1…" He paused, then smiled as Yohei came to him rushing, his helmet on his hand.

" Honda-san…" He started, getting nervous. Mr. Honda looked at him with a grin full of joy.

" 1'16'111." He finally said as he watched Yohei's eyes slowly widen in joy. " You've improved a lot."

" I…did?!" He said with disbelief, grabbing the stopwatch on Mr. Honda's hand. " I really did!!!!!" He rejoiced heartily as his teammates went to him and threw themselves to him, patting his head like a kid.

" Yukata ne, Yohei!!"

" Well, well. I think you're really ready for this day's match." Their coach, Kiyoemon Michio remarked, patting the flattered rookie racer at the back. Yohei smiled and muffled an embarrassed " Thanks" as he looked at his 'Hikari' preciously. Today…he'll win. For sure. Strike that on a rock.

Rukawa arose from his seat and pulled his bag with him. He finally recovered at a short time, and he looked brand new (What BRAND NEW? Is he a car?!!?) The moment he was about to leave the gym, he felt someone tug his arm. Devastated and short-tempered from the ice-breaking game a while ago, he then looked back with a "darn", hoping it wasn't someone who'd ask him something.

" Ne, Rukawa. They'll be watching the race today." Sendoh's cutie voice said, fixing his bag hung on his shoulder.

" What now?" Rukawa asked coldly. " You're already a race fan too?"

" Nope. But my brother was the former representative of the race team. Too bad that he had an accident last year. I just wanted to see who would replace him." reported Sendoh.

" Brother?" Rukawa asked, searching his mind if ever he heard someone with the surname "SENDOH" at the race team. " Ah…Kei…Was that Keij…Keiji Sen...doh?" He asked, a bit unsure.

" He definitely is." Sendoh said. " What? Are you coming or not?" Rukawa shook his head. " Please?" Rukawa still didn't agree. " PUHLEEAASSE?!?!" 

" Iyada. (No)"

" Please?"

"No…"

" Kaede?"

" Urusai. Shine. (Shut up. Die.)"

" Please?!?!?!?!"

" NO!"

" Aw…just this once. Or are you really mad at me because I beat you in terms of fluidity and showy styles just minutes ago…" Rukawa flared when he heard this. No one in earth could beat him. NO ONE. Especially the hedgehog before him.

* Okay, okay! Just to shut his goddamned mouth up!!!* " Fine." He finally replied.

" Sankyuu ne. We better go now or we'll just watch dirt flying around the track." Sendoh said as they rushed out of the gym.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

" Mito-san!!! Somebody's here to talk with ya!!!!" A mechanic said.

" Yeah! I'm coming!!!" Yohei replied, standing from his seat. He then saw a man about 190 cm, a little bit spiky-haired, dressed in jeans and white polo, with a simple jacket. Seems like a normal tall guy until the guy faced him slowly. GOOD HEAVENS! No ARMS!!!! It was a shocking sight for him. He saw lots and lots of people who lack their arms, but he saw them on TV, not in personal.

" You're…Mito Yohei?" The guy asked, smiling. Yohei nodded blankly.

" I'm Sendoh Keiji, former representative of the All-Japan race team." Keiji said while Yohei turned back to his normal self again.

" Ah…Yoroshiku….( It's nice to meet you)" He said, stretching out a hand, softly laughing at himself for being absent minded a while ago. Keiji's brows met curiously at the middle of his forehead.

" Um…Mito-san? Unfortunately…I…think I cannot shake hands with you since…" Keiji said, looking at Yohei's hand, then at his arm-less body.

" Uh…Yeah. Sorry." Yohei said, withdrawing his hand to his side. " Wait, Sendoh? By any means, what is your relation between Sendoh Akira?"

" Akira? He's my little bro. You know him?"

" Of course. My best friend's arch enemy is the long time rival of your brother."

" Ah…Rukawa Kaede."

" Yup."

" Hmm…and your best friend is…Ah! Let me guess…Sakuragi Hanamichi?"  
" You got it right."

" Ah.,. I see."

" Anyway…why are your arms missing?" Yohei asked, looking at his shoulders peculiarly.

" This? My arms were accidentally caught at a factory drill, so they were ripped off."

 * Yeouch!* Yohei thought, erasing the picture of Keiji's dreadful head-ripping experience on his mind. "  Too bad."

" I know." Keiji replied sadly. 

After a little while, they noticed a man pacing back and forth in front of their pit house. The man looked as if he was looking for someone. An ominous frown darkened Keiji's face as he recognized who the man was.

" Mito-san…look over there…" Keiji said, trying not to be as obvious as possible. Yohei then turned slightly enough to see the man in front of the pit stop. " Before I became Japan's representative, he was the one who did. Hideyoshi Yourre."

" What? But, isn't he a LOLian?"

" He's half Japanese and half LOLian." Keiji then remained quiet for a few seconds, then asked Yohei: " Do you want to know the story behind that man and how he ended up as a LOLian player and my former rival?" Yohei nodded eagerly.

_Flashback_

_" What in heaven's name are you doing Sendoh Keiji?! Is that what you call a race? You're just driving fast, that's all!!!!!" Old coach Kiyada Matsu  ( Kiyoemon Michio was just the assistant these times ) hollered at poor Keiji, who couldn't help but look down on the floor. He hated this. It was already a month since he entered the team but he had no improvement at all. And this was the part of his daily routine. Be shouted at by the old hag after race practices._

_" …and why look at Hideyoshi! He started almost the same time as you but now he's a professional, high ranking, first class elite player of Japan!" He said, pointing at Hideyoshi proudly and shouting at Keiji in a discriminating manner. Hideyoshi, in return, looked at Keiji like a speck of dirt, a burden._

_" I'm…sorry…I'll try my bes-"_

_" That line again?! I'll try my best sir! I'll try my best…but is this what you call BEST? Argh! Sendoh, if you don't improve within the next month, I'll kick you out of this team, is that clear?"  
" Yes..sir.."_

_" Sensei, Why give him a month? He's useless, and for sure, he'd be kicked out. The sloth, the pathetic man. …HAHAHA!" Hideyoshi said, jumping off from his seat. Sendoh burned. * Better not say anything more or I'll really kill you….!*_

_" Hah. That's what I wish, Hideyoshi…but…" Their voices were out of range now._

_The next day was just like any other day, screams from the old hag, last placing in practices, poor results, and discriminations from Hideyoshi. It was all the same until Mr. Honda came to help him._

_" Why are you giving up already? Don't forget you're still living, ne?"_

_Mr. Honda's words struck him straight. I'm still living….I won't give up…I wouldn't be beaten by anybody…._

_The hearty mechanic helped him fix his car to the right adjustment needed. _

_" There! That should give them a shock tomorrow!" said Mr. Honda._

_" Ah…Thank you, Honda-san!!!" Keiji replied, bowing several times at him._

_" That's nothing. Hm…what about this? May I be your personal mechanic from this day on?" Keiji's eyes widened as he nodded his head happily. Surely, a miracle is going to happen. Ashita…(Tomorrow..)_

_" 1'11'001!!!!!!" Shouted the old bum Kiyada; his eyes as wide as saucers in incredulity._

_" What?!" Hideyoshi exclaimed, rushing to Kiyada's side to look at the stopwatch. "B-ut…Impossible!!!!! Keiji?! The sloth?!" Keiji's soul almost jumped out of his body when he heard the coach shout "It's a new record!!!! A new record!!!!!"_

_" I still don't believe it." Hideyoshi interrupted, changing Keiji's dreamy mood. " It was just a fluke. SUPER fluke. Why don't we have a match to see whose better, Sendoh Keiji, the ever sloth, or me, Hideyoshi Yourre, Elite…first-cla-"_

_" Okay, it's settled." Interrupted Keiji. * He looks at himself as if he's a God or something. F*** you. Go to hell*_

_" Hm…since this looks good…Okay! The one who wins this match would be the new representative of Japan!" Kiyada exclaimed. Hideyoshi smirked confidently but is a bit nervous. Keiji's time was no joke. And maybe…_

_Six Minutes of the most unbelievable moments happened. Keiji miraculously passed everyone with ease, and gained first place on this practice game. Everyone had their jaws dropped after the race. Others were shaking their heads and pinched their selves, making sure that it wasn't a dream. Kiyada nearly fainted…um…well…really fainted at the shocking result. _

_Hideyoshi, the ever-sore loser, declared another match. He said that it was just super fluke that brought Keiji to the front. But the result of the second game was just the same. Keiji was first once more._

_" What on Jesus Christ's name is that?!?!"  Hideyoshi showed a tantrum, his head steaming hot from dismay and red from humiliation. " Hey you! Sendoh the SLOTH!!!!! What on heaven's name is THAT?! What magic did you use?!?!"_

_" I didn't use magic." Keiji replied, looking more confident than ever. " I just believed in myself."_

_" BELIEVE?!?! Why…ha! Don't use abstract whatsoever on me. I know you tricked me!!"_

_" I didn't. You can check the engine to make sure." Hideyoshi sighed a heavy one as he thundered is way to Keiji's car with his personal mechanic._

_" Sir…it's assembled perfectly. There's no wrong hint here and absolutely no trick." The mechanic said, gazing at the inner parts of the car eagerly. _

_" Well, Hideyoshi…" Kiyada said as he stood from his seat (ice bag in place!) with a sad expression. " I guess Sendoh has to move in your place since he won…"_

_" No….NO!!!" Hideyoshi ran away._

_The very next day, he officially left the team and flew to LOL where he'd join the All-LOL race team. And then, after a month, Sendoh Keiji and Hideyoshi Yourre became the greatest rivals ever._

_End of flashback_

" I see…." Yohei said after listening to Keiji's story.

" Beware. He isn't an ordinary player." Keiji said. Shockingly, Hideyoshi finally approached them, to be exact, on Yohei's direction.

" This'll be another hot game, right? Se-" He then tapped Yohei shoulder and was dazed when he found out that it was not Keiji. But then, he quickly spotted the true one behind with a frown. " …doh…ah. So there you are. So you're not playing for Japan?" He asked in a mocking voice, not seeing Keiji's condition.

" No."

" So you're afrai-AAA!!!" He at that moment saw that Keiji has no arms. " I get it." He finished, looking really upset.    " Hey sonny." He told Yohei, patting his back. " Be sure to give me a nice match."

" Uh…yeah..?"

** ~ Calling all participants. Please go to your posts now. The game will start in a few moments…~**

" Oops, there's the signal! Better, go now! Bye!" He said, running off to the next pit house.

  " Hm. Too cheeky." Hideyoshi said.

" You're right." Yohei said.

" Yohei!!!!! Come here right away!!!!" Haruko said, waving her hands in the air. " Hayaku!!!!!!"

" Yeah, I'm comin'!!!!!" He answered back, running to her.

" Be sure to come back safe, ne?" She told him, looking at his eyes with a worried expression printed heavily on her face. Yohei winked at her. " Sure. I'll win."

" Good heavens!!!!! At last we're here." Mitsui said, taking a seat. He then looked around to see a big track and a big audience in front of him. " *Whistle* It's kinda cool here, ne?"

" Sure is." Ayako replied. " Anyway, it's nice to have Akagi-sempai with us, ne?"

" By the way Akagi, what urged you to come with us?" Kogure asked.

" Er..nothing. Just nothing." He replied. *I know Haruko's here.*

" Akagi, you're hiding something from us." Mitsui said, a mischievous smile on his face. 

" AH! Maybe you're girlfriend's going here too?" Ryota asked, having the same smile on his face.

" Baka!" Exclaimed Akagi, turning red.

" Maa ,maa…." Kogure said, trying to calm the flaring Gori down. " Oh, by the way…who's going to represent our country in this race?"

" Um… last year, it was…it was…um…I forgot…" Mitsui said, thinking really hard.

" Sendoh Keiji." Someone said from behind. It was Sendoh; with him was a yawning Rukawa.

" Ah! Yes! Sendoh Keiji…." Mitsui exclaimed.

" Wait! Isn't he your relative or something?" Ryota asked.

" Oh, he's my bro." Sendoh said, taking a seat behind them. " To be exact, my BIG bro."

" Too bad he had an accident last year after the games." Ayako said.

" His arms were ripped off." Ryota continued.

" He was really sad then." Sendoh said.

" Wait! My question is not answered yet!" Kogure interrupted.

" Yeah! Who's the representative?!" Mitsui asked.

" He's…" Akagi started.

" Who else but our comrade Mito Yohei!!!!!!!!" The guntai said out of nowhere, with a banner saying " Mito Yohei! Part of the Sakuragi guntai!!!! He's the best!!!!".

" WAAH! Anta tachi!!!! ( You guys!!!!)" Everyone ( Sen, Akagi, Mit, Ko, Ryo, Aya (Rukawa is silent as usual.) exclaimed. Sakuragi then went near the railing to have a better look at the people below. (Good thing Haruko is inside the Pit house^^) He then spotted Yohei standing in front of his car, his back facing them while he's fixing his gloves.

Sakuragi then heaved a heavy breath, then held it for a few seconds.

Minna: Sweatdrop^^ What's he up to?!?!

" YYYYYOOOOOOOOHHHHHEEEEEEEIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!! GAAAAAAANNNNNBBBAAATTTTTEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!"

Everyone's hairs nearly flew away with Sakuragi's ala thunder voice. Yohei, quickly recognizing who that was, faced at their direction happily.

" Hanamichi!!!!!" He said waving a hand in the air.

" Yohei! Ganbatte!!!!" He repeated, now his volume decreased a bit.

" Sure." Yohei replied. Spotting Sakuragi and the other three salute at him, he then responded with a salute, too.

**~ Racers, please go to your positions now.~**

Yohei then rode on his Hikari while his mechanics take their last check on his car. After checking, Yohei drove his car to lane number 3, while Hideyoshi at lane number 5.

" This' going to be a great game." Keiji said as he made his way to Akira's side. " Right, Aki-chan?"

" ' nichan!" Akira said (Lets call him Akira for now, since they're both Sendoh^^). Keiji then smiled at Rukawa.

" Right, Kae-chan?" He said. Rukawa nearly choked and threw a death glare at Keiji.^^

* Hn. Just like his brother, except for the arm-conditions of course* Rukawa thought (Chibi)

**~ Three…two...one…go!!!!!~**

The cars are straight in passing the starting line. Today's weather condition is perfect for a race. Yohei remained third place in the first lap, and he finished it with a time of 1'49. 875 by a speed of 222 km/hr and a gear of 5. Annoyingly, the second lap started with Hideyoshi passing the third (him), the second, and the first, causing Hideyoshi to be first and him to be in the fourth place. A feeble curse croaked through his throat as he stepped on the gas pedal harder. To his dismay, the car behind bumped him. He lost his balance for a slight while, but then got it back. But because of this, the car that bumped him that made him into the fifth place surpassed him. There was still time. With his speed, that is 166 km/hr and his gear in 4, he turned left and gained the third place again. He finished lap two with a smooth 1'41'242. Lap three now. He was aiming for the first place but the second car would let him over take. But then, with sheer luck, he was able to surpass the second placer. Now, it was only a close fight with Hideyoshi and him.

Helicopters flew overhead, capturing the fight in a video cam, directly showing it on a big screen. Lap three finished as smooth as lap one, with Yohei's time track of 1'36'191 and a speed of 235km/hr, gear five. He couldn't go as fast as 1'16'111 since the competition was tough. But he had to. In order to win, at least 1'20 something would do.

It's the final lap that everyone waits for. Yohei nearly got first, but Hideyoshi was really tough. He kept on surpassing Yohei. Then happened an accident that nearly ended Yohei's dream of winning. The car number three and four collided with each other, causing a minor explosion. Though it was minor, Yohei was near the explosion, and his rear tires were damaged. Everyone was shocked (they're watching all these in the big monitor).

" Yohei!" Sakuragi exclaimed, jumping off his seat.

" Would he be all right?" Akagi asked.

" He better stop on the pit! His tires are damaged!" Kogure said.

" No." Said Keiji, his eyes fixed on the monitor. " Rider's pride, specially for a guy like him, wouldn't allow his mind to stop. I'm sure he's thinking of beating Hideyoshi, and that the finish line is just a short distance away. He wouldn't give up easily, I know." Everyone fell dead silent at Keiji's words. That's true. That's the same when you play basketball, you're nearly defeated, then the coach asks for a time out. Your pace and pride is ruined slightly. You feel as if you're feeble and helpless, and needs a short break to just catch up with them.

" Yohei…" Haruko prayed, clasping her hands tightly than ever.

With rear tires nearly worn-out and the metal part of the wheel hitting the ground, causing sparks to fly in the sky, Yohei was just an arm away from Hideyoshi, and two feet away from the finish line. *I'll win! I'll win!!* He kept on repeating in his mind. With one enormous spark that flew in the air, Yohei finally claimed first place as he passed on the finish line, with a time of 1'29'068. The All-Japan race team and the all-Japan Basketball team stood up in delight, along with their other countrymen. They won!!!!!

Yohei quickly left his car and jumped along with his rejoicing team members. His first victory was truly smashing!!!!! His other team members shook a bottle of liquor, then popped it's cover out, making a vast liquor exlplosion. Sakuragi and the others quickly went down to greet Yohei's victory.

" DARN IT!" Hideyoshi cursed, banging his helmet on the ground. " Darn. Darn…DARN!!!" 

" Yohei!!!!" Haruko shouted, teary eyed. She then ran to him as he hugged her, with the explosion of liquor as their background. " I'm so happy…" She said, crying.

" That I won?" He asked, helping her wipe the tears from her eyes. Haruko shook her head.

" It's because you returned safely." She said, tightening her grip on his waist. Yohei smiled as he held her close, close enough to see those forming tears on her eyes. Then and there, the urge to kiss her fired in his whole body. He inched his face closer. * Kirei…(Beautiful)* He thought. Just then….

" Yohei!!!!! Omede-(Congra-)…" Sakuragi was then halted when he saw this *SHOCKING* scene for him. Akagi just looked down in defeat. *I knew this would happen* He thought as he shifted his gaze back to the ever-traumatized Sakuragi in front of him. " …tou…( tulations…)" He then finished weakly, his eyes as big as saucers. Yohei and Haruko panicked, as they parted a bit, preparing for the worst.

" Sakuragi…" Yohei began, looking down.

_The figure reached out a shaky hand to take - no- rip off the man's heart out_

 This.is.unbelievable." The guntai said in unison, looking as if this is the biggest UNBELIEVABLE in the twentieth century.

" No…" Sakuragi said, backing a bit. " No…"

" Sakuragi-kun…go-gomen…(sorry)…" Haruko muttered, clinging onto Yohei's arm.

Sakuragi was then struck straight at the heart. " Go-gomen…?" He repeated. HE then remembered Yoko, the 50th girl who dumped him…

_" Gomen, Sakuragi-kun…." _

" I'm very sorry, Hanamichi…"Yohei said.

_* I'm sorry...* he heard from the figure's lips. * I'm very sorry…*_

" No….This can't…this can't be!!!!!!" He exclaimed, his fists rolling up into a ball. Ryota, Mitsui, and Kogure tried to calm him down, but they couldn't help it. 

_Tookute hatenai tabiji ni kanpai shiyou sekai wa                       It's been so long after that day I saw _

_Kieta no sa Mou kegasarenai yo                                               We drank to love, but when we went our own ways_

_Kimi to futari de okashita tsumi wo sokonau mirai mo             Was there an excuse, or did we simply run away?_

_Kiete yuku Sou Hikikaesenai                                                      I know that you said that you could never love me_

_                                                                                                    That it was just a whim, a fleeting feeling_

_                    How could you be sure, when you've never even felt this _

_                    way?  _

_Dakedo ano hi osanai sekai ni                                                  However, just that same day I saw you look at him_

_Oite kita kokoro wa                                                                   And I know that you could see me too, but you turned_

_Ima mo kawaita nodo wo sakebase                                           And when I saw you kiss, my throat went dry_

_Utsukushii ai wo utau yo…                                                        And my salty tears won't help quench it away._

" Hanamichi…" Yohei muttered.

" Yohei…and come to think of it…ha! You're my best…MY BEST FRIEND!!!!!"

_The pain crept from the tip of his hair until the very end of his toenails…slowly…throbbing…_

" Hanamichi! I've come here-huh?" Midori then saw the scene and eyed it curiously. " What is happening?" She asked Takamiya.

" Long story, Midori-san." Takamiya said, his eyes showed loneliness. Sakuragi then felt tears on his eyes, and he couldn't help it.

_Water…he had water in his eyes…it was flowing heavily. He was crying. _

" Matte! Sakuragi-kun!!!!" Haruko called as Sakuragi ran away, leaving trails of tears behind. Midori then followed him.

" I don't know exactly what happened, but all I know is Sakuragi's…" Ryota said, looking at the two.

" Heartbroken." Mitsui finished.

" Let me explain…" Yohei started..

_Boku ga kizutsuita hi ha naze ga kimi mo damatte                     On the day I realized it, why did you deceive me?_

_Kazou e kirenai kimochi daite aruita ne                                      I embraced the countless emotions and kept walking_

" Matte!!!! Hanamichi!!!!" Midori said as she tried to catch up with Sakuragi. But to no avail. Sakuragi's speed was far more than hers. He was heading for the basketball gym. Reason? None. He just felt like going there and burst out his feelings there. Of Pain. Of hatred. 

Sakuragi's POV

This..is absurd! I knew the world was against me! I knew it!

I don't know why but I still love her the way I do when I was still in high school. Like the flame that burned out and lost its fuel, I lost her. Who was it that loved her and she loved back? My Friend!!! My best friend who grew up with me, who was my sidekick in all of the pain, the mem'ries, in happiness, and sadness….

Even though Midori came to my life…I still love her….

I don't know where I'm going and I don't know what to do…

Maybe…this could be the end of my world…

Haruko is the fifty-first girl to dump me…

Our POV

" Matte!!!" She cried out louder. But then, she didn't notice a big rock in front of her. She tripped and fell, causing a big cut in her knee. Sakuragi then saw this and quickly ran to her side.

" I'm okay." she said, as she tried to get up. " How about you?" Sakuragi didn't answer. Midori has no choice but to halt a taxi to bring them to the nearest gym, the basketball gym.

" ..that's the explanation of all of this….." Yohei finished, giving out an exasperated sigh.

" I understand Hanamichi and why he's like that. We can't blame him…" Ryota said.

" But you guys should've told the truth." Mitsui said.

" We did try to but we find it hard to tell him about it." Said Haruko, feeling guilty.

" It was quite a shock for him." Kogure said. " Now I'll understand if ever he'll not join the practice tomorrow." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

" …um…so that's what happened." Midori said as she looked at the ceiling of the gym, twirling the bandage on her knee by her finger. Sakuragi sat with his other knee raised up, which his right hand was rested onto.

" I…I'm not good at these things…comforting…you know…but cheer up. She isn't the only girl in the world. *Baka!  It's as if you present yourself to him!*" 

Sakuragi still didn't answer. His expression was as if the heaven and earth fell down on him.

" Hanamichi! Look at me!!!" Midori said, waving her hands in front of him. "Are you listening?!" No reply. " If you wouldn't listen, I'll sing!" She said. There was still no reply from the ala zombie Sakuragi. Midori then heaved a sigh.

" I'll sing!!!" She said once more. " I'll really sing!!! *Okay..here goes nothing!*"

" Why? Nandaka Ochikonde'ru mitai

                (Why? For some reason you look sad)

  Voice, my voice, todoketai yo KIMI ni

                ( Voice, my voice, I hope that it will reach you)

 Omoidoori ni naranai koto nara

                ( If it's about things don't go the way I want them to)

 ima wa takusan attarisuru kedo

                ( There are a lot of them, but…)

 Mata ashita wa chigau kaze; fuite kuru yo

                ( Tomorrow a different wind will blow)

 Ryoute wo hirogeta mune ni kanjiru mama

                ( and we'll feel it in our hearts with hands wide open)

 Nani ga osoikakatte mo semetate'te mo

                ( Though things beat down on us, though they may torture us)

 Watashi-tachi wa daijobu

                ( we'll be alright) "

Sakuragi finally looked at her with a bewildered expression. 

_He heard another voice again, but this time, it was sweet and melodic._

" Finally, you noticed!" Midori said as she smiled happily. " You know, Hanamichi, every time you get rid of your worries, your heart will get stronger. Although you may feel, tears start to well up, don't give up! Believe in the power of smile! Open the door of light, don't be afraid! I'm sure! I'm very, very sure! You'll be all right!"

" Midori.." Sakuragi said as he cried like a child. Midori comforted him and patted his back.

" Daijobu, Hanamichi. Koko watashi wa de… (I'm here…)"

_" I…am here…"_

**********************************************************************************************

Author's note:

Hagaki: Aww….shucks….:p

Minami: *sob…sob…*  how… sweet…Even though I'm NOT a sakuragi fan, I still pity him. Don't worry Midori is still there!!!

Hagaki: So many songs here..er-slightly. There's Weiß Kreuz' "CARNIVAL 2000" and "KITTO WASURENAI" and Boys be's "DAIJOBU".

Minami: Yup. I just love Weiß Kreuz songs!!! They're so lonely yet sweet. I also love the characters!!! Omi-san!!! Aya-san!!! Ken-san!!! Yoji??? Anyway, I hope you loved it. I forgot to tell you guys, it was MY IDEA that Yohei would become a racer in this fic. I really like that idea. He's so kawaii!!! I also like calling Kaede, KAE-CHAN!!!

Hagaki: Anyway, I'm happy that we're already finished at chappy mitchin.

Minami: Excatly. This chapter is really hard to think about. Ah guys, we might not update soon anymore since exam week is near. But don't worry after exam week we promise to update as soon as possible.

Hagaki: Don't worry. The end of this fanficcy is quite near. Our next update might be around the second or third week of March. Note: THE CHAPTERS ONLY. We still plan to have 3 LOOONG Sequels.^^

Minami: By the way, I would like to thank one of my classmates that I would hide under the name of Umi_Clef. Arigato for reading and commenting on our fic!!!  R & R please!!!

 Both: JAAAANNNNNNEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	16. Footstep 1

Author's note:

Hagaki: Ah...well, well. Good thing we were able to survive the GODDAMNED Virus…HAHAHA!!!!!! Even though it's a tough virus…WE WILL SURVIVE! YEAH!

By the way, before we start, we interviewed YOUHEI!!!! Well, sowee minna if I spelled his name without  U. I'm really sorry. I myself got puzzled if I should really put a U or not. But now I know…THERE"S A U AT HIS NAME!!!!!!! ^^

Anyway, here comes the interview: (actually, it's just for kicks :p)

Hagaki: Youhei!!! Konninchiwa!!!!

Youhei: (raises a hand) Konnichiwa!!

Hagaki: So How's life?

Youhei: Hm…just okay…except for the problem about Hanamichi-

Hagaki: His reaction, right? 

Youhei: Yeah..

Hagaki: Don't worry bout that. 

Youhei: You sure?

Hagaki: Yup.

Youhei: Thanks.

Hagaki: Oh, by the way, how's your life as a Professional racer?

Youhei: Just fine. To tell you the truth, I was surprised to know that I would become one. I thought you'd be putting me in soccer or anything else…

Hagaki: Why not? Racing looks good on you. (Blush blush)

Youhei: (scratches the back of his head in embarrassment) Thanks.

Hagaki: Anyway, we should continue with our *FILMING* nowJ. The camera will roll on any minute. You know that the old man controlling the camera couldn't wait. *Giggle* (An old man clears his throat and shouts: I'll start recording!!!!)

Youhei: (laughs hard with Hagaki. Haruko then comes in and wraps her arms around Youhei's back) Ah, Haruko-chan!

Haruko: Let's go, Youhei-kun, Hagaki-san!

Hagaki: You guys look adorable! J (Couple blush) anyway, let's go!

Haruko and Youhei: Ossu!

Disclaimer: We are just borrowing Dr. T's Creation!!!!!! * Sigh* I wish it was mine instead…L

****

**Chapter 15: Footstep number ONE**

****

**_**

****

Silence filled the dull atmosphere of the All-Japan Basketball gym as Rukawa slammed the ball powerfully at the ring, nearly ripping it off from the board it was hooked on. The ones who were guarding him breathed in and out deeply, gladly suffering from the intense play of the FOX ace player of the team. Rukawa tossed his raven hair out of his eyes, then helped his teammates stand up from the impact of his powerful signature move.

No one would surely forget the shocking scene yesterday, where Sakuragi finally knew a heart breaking secret about to be told. Everyone was worried about him. As they have said: "If I were to put myself on his shoes, I'd rather be the same…"

Kogure sighed lightly as he picked up the ball rolling towards his direction. _As I've thought, he's not here._ He shifted his gaze to the persons around him. They all looked hushed, soundless as the day their captain died. Well, they thought, it's a dying matter for the redhead. He then looked slightly left and saw Haruko sitting at the chair located at the right hand corner of the gym, her hands clasped in front of her lips, which was as straight as a line; looking totally guilty. It was obvious that she was there to face Sakuragi and talk to him straightforwardly. Despite this, it was also obvious that she looked tense. What would he say? Would he start up a fight? These were apparently printed on her face. Beside her standing was Youhei, his hand resting on the back of Haruko's seat. He had the very exact expression printed on his face.

" Uh…well- I think this time it would be understandable if Sakuragi wouldn't join the practice…ne…?" Kogure, breaking the glass silence, said while he dribbled the ball once, and let it bounce high back to his hands again. Akagi didn't answer, nor did he steam like he usually did. He just took the ball from Kogure's hand then spun it around his finger.

" Akagi?"

Akagi breathed in and said: " Well, I'll let it pass. But only for now. Our first game is near." 

Mikatsu then went beside Akagi at his signal, and then threw the ball in as a go for the game to start again. Akagi glanced at his younger sister, who surprisingly responded to his stare. _I'm sorry, brother…I should've told him before…before you guys would finally have your national debut…_

" Three-point!" Mitsui exclaimed as he tossed the ball behind the three-point line. It bounced off a little, and then it went in. Ryota caught the ball and ran outside of the sideline. 

" I just hope before the game Hanamichi'd be alright…" He said as he threw the ball in.

" YOSHI!!!!!!!!" 

The doors flew open abruptly, halting everyone in their tracks. Loud thumps of footsteps were heard as someone entered the gym, dressed in a sleeveless gray top and black nearly-up-to-the-knee shorts, bass shoes without socks. His red hair glowed under the beam of the morning sun, allowing everyone to see his face clearly. Only one person…

Sakuragi Hanamichi.

Haruko froze as she heard his voice again, whereas Youhei looked really shocked. The others nearly dropped their jaws on the floor, while Ryota, who was holding the ball, unfortunately dropped it, leaving it rolling for quite a while.

" Did everybody miss this genius? Nyahaha! I knew you would!!!" Sakuragi boastfully exclaimed, laughing hard. Behind him appeared Midori, looking a bit coy and uneasy with other people around.

" B-but…Sakuragi…you were...yesterday…" Kogure started, glancing at the two located at the corner of the gym in between his words.

" …eh?" Sakuragi's eyebrows curved. The whole basketball team (with other extras^^) fell hard on their rears, if not, their heads, in surprise. BAG!

" What do you mean by 'eh?' ?!" Mitsui said, gradually standing from his *fall*.

" Are you sure you're alright?!? I mean…" Ryota said, looking really flabbergasted.

" Moron…" Rukawa murmured.

" Oi, oi! What the heck…" He then remembered what they were talking about after thinking (Nani? Sakuragi? Thinking? UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!)

 *Ah, yesterday…I…* 

Upon recalling the situation he had, he curved his lips into an unforced, real smile. He then looked at Youhei and Haruko at the corner and threw them a friendly look, which surprised them. Youhei looked at him, then at his back. *Now I know the reason* He thought, responding to his best friend with a smile exactly the same as the one he threw to him.

" Don't worry about this genius!!! Just go back to practice! I'll join you guys in a flash after I warm up." Everyone had to smile. At least, their teammate, their friend, looked okay now. At least, it looked like he already accepted the fact that the girl he set his eyes on set hers on another, specifically someone very close to him.

They all started the game again as Sakuragi started his warm up by cracking his knuckles, then shaking them. Midori, still demure, trailed behind him, and rested on the wall. Her hands, which were located at the middle, served as a cushion on her back.

" Youhei…" Said Sakuragi, looking at him with an expression word couldn't describe, somewhat in between happiness and defeat. Youhei just HAD to be nervous. Despite this, he HAD to take a gander at his best friend. Feeling hope when he saw a beam slowly curving on the redhead's lips, which was warm and accepting, Youhei's worries drowned away. He then took another look at the girl behind his best friend and grinned.

To his surprise, Sakuragi locked his arm over Youhei's head and patted his head like a child. Youhei's surprise was just momentarily, since he knew what this kind of act meant. An act of friendship, peace, or fun. Sakuragi isn't mad at him anymore, since while he's doing this, he was laughing his usual N-Y-A-H-A laugh.

" Lucky you, Yohei!" Sakuragi said after freeing Youhei. Haruko then went beside them and tangled her fingers to remove her anxiety, since the next thing that'll go out of her mouth is about yesterday…

Sakuragi then looked at her. A different kind of look. It wasn't the usual, drooling look that he always had when she was around. It was a normal, friendly look. He then went near her and gave the same smile he had given Youhei. (Wait; aren't they just smiling all the time?!?!)

" Sa-sakuragi-kun…ano…" stammered Haruko, still entwining her fingers restlessly, avoiding his look. Sakuragi then bent to whisper her something that made her redden a bit. He then backed a little and winked.

" Don't worry about me anymore, Haruko." He said, placing a hand on his pocket, the other giving her a thumbs up.    

" I'm a tensai, and you know that a tensai shouldn't be worried about." He said, and then he went near Youhei.

" Never make her cry or I swear, I'll kick your ass off!!!" Sakuragi said jokingly, lightly punching Youhei's head. " And remember, I'll not be the only one! Gori would surely break every bone on your body!"

" You can count on me." Youhei said, responding his light punch by another.

" Hello!" Ayako greeted at the four, winking, her notebook held near her chest. " Sakuragi, your turn on the game!"

" Ossu!" Sakuragi scampered hastily to the court, shouting, " Here's the tensai!!!!!!" Over and over, patting his teammates backs.

" You're late, do you know that?!?!" Akagi exclaimed, greeting him with a strong punch on the head.

" Gori…" Sakuragi whimpered in pain, soothing the forming lump on his head.

 Ayako laughed, so did Haruko and Youhei.

" He's amazing. He was able to forget that big thing. Well! I think it's over now." She said, shifting her gaze. " By the way, the both of you, I was also shocked yesterday!! Hihi…huh?" She then noticed Midori at the wall, watching the members play at the court.

" Takeshima?" Ayako said, taking a closer look at Midori. " Ah!!! Takeshima!!!!" 

Midori looked quite stunned and shy when she heard Ayako call out her name. " H-hai..?"

" You're really Takeshima!!! Nice to meet you. I'm Ayako. I'm the freshly recruited manager of the All-Japan Basketball team." She said, stretching out a hand. Midori then looked at it, and then, after getting the idea, she gladly but timidly shook her own hand to hers.

" Watashi no namae wa Midori…"

" Takeshima Midori…dane?"

" H-hai…"

" By the way, you came here with Sakuragi, ne?" Ayako asked happily, quite getting he flow of the story, why Sakuragi just accepted the fact about Haruko and Youhei. Midori nodded slightly as her yes.

" I have a friend at you team and she told me that you've done a great job yesterday! And you know what? You're at the newspaper!!!"  
" M-me?" Midori asked, turning crimson.

" Haven't you read it?" Ayako's brows curved. " Maa…just like Sakuragi. Here it is." She said, running over to the bench, picking up a newspaper. There was Midori's picture where she was posing for her spike, to be exact, the so-called "super SPIKE". There was a caption at the side, saying, " Rookie Takeshima Midori's 'Super spike' brought almost the 70% of Japan's win!"

Midori's eyes widened. It was really she, and the newspaper was praising her! A new feeling rushed to her veins that added up to her stock of inspiration.

" By the way, I'm surprised that Sakuragi Hanamichi really has a good taste." Ayako said, staring at Midori's cherry cheeks. " To be honest, you look cute."

" Dou-doumo…(Thanks…)" She replied.

 " I'll ask you early, do you like him?"

" W-wh-what?!?!" Midori exclaimed, burning redder.

" Ah…I think that was abrupt. But don't make him too serious about you if you don't like him. When time comes and he knows it, the output'll be bad. From his junior high days until now, FIFTY ONE girls turned him down."

Midori nearly choked when she heard this. " That many?!?!"

" A-re? You don't know?"

" He never told me."

" Mataku. " J 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Successful three days had passed. The volleyball team had earned their second win, while the race team hadn't yet, since their next fight would be tomorrow. Today's big game belongs to the excited, burning hot Basketball team of Japan.

Mitsui went in the gym, Kogure trailing behind him groggily. Neither any of them had any decent sleep last night, since they were very, very excited about their first game. (Uh...except Kae-chan^^) There they met the others with the same condition as they have.

" Guess we all should walk together to the gym." Mitsui said as he saw everyone was present. He rubbed his eye-bagged eyes and let out a slight yawn.

" We better go now, or we'll be late." Akagi said, picking up his bag.

" Haha! Look at Gori! You can't sleep well yesterday, right?" Sakuragi said, looking at Akagi's face closely. 

Akagi reddened in shame. " How dare you! And what do you think of yourself?"

Sakuragi's eye-bagged eyes widened, then narrowed in anger and embarrassment. " Temee!!!!"

" Stop it, both of you!" Ryota interrupted, creating a defense J between the gorilla and the redhead. " It's not nice to do this early in the morning."

" And it's not nice to go to the court with lumps and eye bags or black eyes." Kogure giggled softly.

" Well, we'd better go now." Ayako reminded, looking at her blue and white colored watch, with little cherry pink hearts on it's corner. (Actually, that was Ryota's B-day gift for herJ)

" To the championship…!" Akagi cried out, placing his hand on the middle of everyone, which was held by the hands of the others. They all smiled happily as they responded Akagi's sentence. " Yeah!" They cried out as they release their hands in the air.

Akane was in the middle of stepping the ground to follow them as she felt something behind her. Someone familiar. She felt at first, cold, then warm. The feeling was so normal and tempting that she decisively turned around to see a familiar silhouette man behind her.

" Oda?"

Nobuhiro nodded slightly with a smile. Akane nearly cried but just smiled to herself. He was back. Back but lifeless. Still, she was very happy that he was there, at her front. Their beloved captain…

" Oda, since you're here, why don't you join us to the gym? Surely there, you'll see what you want to see. Their…" She said as she looked at the direction of the hopeful group before her. " Their smiles…Of Joy…"

Nobuhiro smiled as his "yes"…

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~ In a moment, the game between the Basketball team of Japan and the Basketball team of Yor would start…~

" Listen…" Akagi said as he looked pretty serious on the bench of their locker room, his arms folded, and his jacket draped over his shoulder. " This is our first game. I count off those former ones, since this may be their sixth, fifth, or any other. We should give our best." He then stood up that made his jacket fall on the floor.

" I've dreamt of this since I was in grade school! Many nights that I've wondered...what would it feel like to play as a National player? What would it feel to be awarded as champion over other countries…in all those years, my hope sometimes fall, but I never fall myself. And now, this is the day…The day I've been waiting for!"

" Gori." Sakuragi called out, stretching out a hand. " To the championship…?" Akagi smiled and placed his hand over Sakuragi's. " Ossu!" He said. Ryota followed. " Count me in!" Then Kogure. " Me too." Then Mitsui " yeah!"  And then Rukawa, followed by the other team members. Ayako then placed her left hand on top of the others, and her right under. Akane, opposite Ayako, did the same. Lastly, Coach Anzai came in and placed his hand on the very top.

" To the championship…" Coach Anzai started.

" YEAH!!!!!"

" Sakuragi, This was my former jersey number. This is yours now. Number ten looks better on you than me." Mikatsu said, offering a red, white, and black colored jersey to the red head. It indicated a medium sized text saying "sakuragi" at the back, over the big number ten.

" Thanks."

" And this is for Miyagi. My former jersey number, seven."  Said Masaki after giving Ryota his Jersey. Ryota accepted it happily. " I really love the number seven in red color." Ryota remarked.

" Mitsui, this is yours." Toshiro said. " Take good care of the pride of that number. Fourteen was my old jersey number. And here it is." He said, showing his old Jersey to Mitsui. He then placed it back and reached for another plastic that contained Mitsui's new jersey in it. " Thanks" Mitsui said as he accepted his jersey.

" This is yours Kogure." Ryo said, giving him a jersey numbered five. Kogure accepted it gratefully.

" And Akagi, this is yours." Akane said, handing over a huge red, white, and black Jersey to Akagi. " That was Nobuhiro-kun's old number, and as the new captain, you'd be getting the number four." Akagi nodded and took the Jersey. " Thank you." He said.

" Special seats…special-ah! Here they are!!!" Sendoh exclaimed as he plopped his self onto the chair reading "Special seats". Beside him sat Keiji, then Youhei, Haruko, Midori, and the guntai.

" Honestly, I was shocked when I knew that I'd be sitting on a special seat!!!" Takamiya exclaimed, looking over the rail to the bench of All-Japan Basketball team located right in front of them.

" Well, special thanks to Sendoh Keiji-san!!!" Ohkusu remarked, looking at Keiji.

" That was nothing. You should also thank Aki-chan here. Since he's a respected local player, they reserved him a special seat." He said as he glanced at his brother. "Ne, Aki-"

" Mrfhph…?" Akira asked as he turned to their direction, sipping some lemon from the drink he had. 

Keiji sweat dropped." You hell love lemons, don't you?"

~ In a moment, we will start. We demand silence from the crowd…~

" Ah, here they come." Youhei said.

~ The players-ah!!!!~ They then heard some rustling and some screaming over the microphone, then after a little while, the sounds settled.

" Huh? What wazzat?" Noma asked curiously.

" I dunno…"

~ A…hem! Well, good day! And now, the players! From Japan!~

" Hey, I know that…" Ryota said from the door.

" Ahh!! My doctor!!!" Mitsui exclaimed.

" Hagaki-san?" Kogure asked.

" The girl at the amusement park!!!!" Akagi shouted.

" The writer!!!" Sakuragi roared.

" What are you doing here?!?!?" Everybody asked in unison.

~ Well, I'm the writer, am I? I have the power to do everything I wish on this fic!!! Ho-ho-ho!!!~

~ And I'm here too!!!~ Minami said, grabbing the mike from Hagaki.

" Even Minami?" Sakuragi asked.

" Where's the announcer? The real one?" Sendoh asked.

 ~ Ah, he's safe and sound!~ (Pic of the announcer with packaging tape on his mouth and strong ropes around his waist, hand, and feet. His eyes blindfolded. He says: "Hmpfelp Mwuhee !!! ("_help me"_ in muffled version)" ^^) (anyway, if you see some minor changes in the player's stats, that's normal because this fic happened approximately 6 years after the one in the series)

~ Anyway, going back…Players from Japan!~

~ Standing 193.5 centimeters, center, Jersey number four, also the team captain…Akagi Takenori!!!~ Akagi then stepped in the court after clapping the hands of his teammates. Japanese people (And fans) cheer happily at their new captain.

" Go, Brother!!" Haruko shouted from her seat.

~ Next! Standing 169 centimeters, point guard, Jersey number seven, Miyagi Ryota!!!~ Cheerings were again heard.

" Ryota!!! Ganbatte!!!" Ayako shouted from the bench.

" Aya-chan…!" Ryota blushed and waved at her. Toink! Sakuragi gave him a punch on the head. " Better go on the court now!!!" He reminded.

~ And, standing 187.2 centimeters, shooting guard, Mitsui Hisashi!!!~ Mitsui then clapped everyone's hands ( Min-kun's, specially^^) and then entered the court, then settled beside Akagi and Ryota.

" Go! Mitchin!!!!" The guntai shouted.

" MIIIIITTTTTTCCCCCHHHHHHHAAAAAAAANNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Mitsui's everlasting fans club shouted.

Mitsui turned red. " You freaks again?!?!?!"

~ Now…Standing (Gorgeously!) 190 centimeters tall,  Small forward, Jersey number ELEVEN,~ The crowd cheered loudly. Girls wave banners saying " Rukawa kun the best!!!", " The **THUNDER OF COACHES**, Number ELEVEN, Kaede Rukawa", " Rukawa's fan's club" and many other more.

~ Rukawa KAEDE!!! (Hagaki Faints)~

" RUKAWAA!!!!!!" Girls shout loudly as Rukawa clapped the hands of his teammates and stepped onto the court.

" Ooh! Kae-chan has lots of fans here!!" Sendoh said with amazement. " Ganbatte, Rukawa!!!!' He added.

" The crowd's going wild!!!!" Keiji exclaimed.

" No wonder. In all these years, I'm sure Rukawa created a big name. Look, even the girls of other countries cheer for him." Youhei remarked, looking at his back towards some other girls who were persistent in getting the fox ace player's attention.

~ Last but not the least to complete the first five!!! Standing 191.3 centimeters tall, power forward, Sakuragi Hanamichi!!!!~

" Here it goes!!!" Ohkusu said, unfolding a banner. Takamiya and Noma helped him unfold the big banner while everyone eyed their act curiously.

" Hey guys, what's that?" Youhei asked.

" Tantaranantantan!!!!" The guntai exclaimed. Youhei and the others then looked at the banner.

"**PRESENTING**… "(Below it) Former...foul-out…king…the red haired monkey…"(after it) "  with the famous titles…" (Underneath it)" … **PAIN OF THE COACHES**… **PAIN OF GORI'S BIG ASS**… AND… **JAPAN'S BIGGEST PAIN**… " (Finally) "**…SAKURAGI…HANAMICHI!!! **" Everyone read slowly.  They then paused for a while. After absorbing each word in their heads, they burst out into laughter. Sendoh pounded the rail with his fist while laughing VERY hard, tears welling his eyes. (OH!!! Kawaii!!!^^) Whereas Keiji try hard not to. Youhei held his stomach as he laughed like there was no tomorrow, and Haruko giggled softly, covering her mouth (but she was kinda offended about the BIG ASS…). Midori turned a bit red and felt a bit offended (o.O But we swear, she's also laughing…)

" Hanamichi!!!!" The guntai exclaimed, waving the banner. Sakuragi steamed red and smoke released from his head abruptly.

" BAKA, OMAE-TACHI!!!!!!!!!!!" (Akagi:* sigh* *veins popping out of his head*)

~ And now…the Yornese….~

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

" We count on you, Akagi. Be sure to get the Jump ball." Mitsui said as he tapped Akagi's back, along with the other players, in the middle of the jump ball circle. 

" Ossu." Went Akagi's reply. 

" Okay! Jump-ball!" The referee exclaimed. Akagi readied himself for the jump ball.

_" Akagi, what do you plan for? Best eight? Top ten?"_

_" The National Championship!!!"_

_" Whoa! What a high dream!!!"_

_" Sooner or later, it wouldn't be a dream. It'll turn to reality…"_

* And this is the biggest chance to turn that dream into reality…* Akagi thought to himself. He then waited for the signal. After taking a last look at the players, the referee finally blew his whistle and tossed the ball in the air. Akagi jumped incredibly high and managed to get the jump ball. The audience was amazed since the center he beat in the jump ball was one of the best. Ryota caught the ball and started to instruct his teammates about their moves. 

" Rukawa!" He exclaimed as he used the over pass to give Rukawa the ball. Rukawa caught it and dribbled it, his back facing his opponent. He then faced his opponent and charged towards the court. Abruptly, he jumped, preparing for a quick, clean, and easy jump shot. 

" That's suicidal!!!" Keiji exclaimed.

" Nope. That's really him." Akira said, looking calm and cool on his seat.

But then, the one who was guarding him jumped to block it. Rukawa looked at his opponent by the eye. Rukawa grunted a bit but then he passed the ball backwards towards Akagi, who caught it and made his greatest signature move…

" Gorilla dunk!!!" Ayako happily exclaimed, raising a fist in the air as Akagi succeeded in smashing the ball onto the hoop heavily. Everyone in the gym cheered loudly as the scoreboard finally got its first score. 

" Gori!!! Nice!!!" Sakuragi exclaimed as he clapped his hands with Akagi.

" That's just a warm up! Let's go!!! Shoho- er- Japan….fight!!!"

" Yeah!!!"

 Yornese jersey number 24 Nob Voiji caught the rolling ball on his hands. After pushing aside his golden dyed stray locks of hair on his face, he remarked: " Japan…not a bad team…"

Nob, the Yornese point guard, started to dribble the ball. Ryota was guarding him pretty well. Even the slightest chance Ryota didn't give.

" First time?" Nob said, dribbling the ball. Ryota curiously looked back at him, who just smiled.

* How impudent.* Ryota thought. He then noticed that Nob dribbled a bit slow. * he's coming*

Nob charged so fast that Ryota was unable to catch him. Akagi attempted to block Nob, but to no avail. Nob shot his first point recklessly but neat on to the ring. Girls cheered loudly inside the gym as Nob raised his thumbs-up on the air, smiling cheekily. 

" Sorry. He's just to fast…" Ryota said as he wiped his chin, panting a bit heavily.

" No. It's alright. This is just the start." Akagi said, patting Ryota's back. " Get ready for offense!!!"

" Hn. That guy's so impudent. If this court was a wrestling court, I'll surely break his neck before he knows it." Sakuragi cracked his knuckles madly.

" Don't be to hot, Sakuragi. That may even be the cause of your foul outs." Mitsui reminded.

" That's what I am waiting for." Rukawa barged in.

" Teme! Rukawa!!!" BONK!

" Stop that! Concentrate on the offense!" Exclaimed Akagi, smacking Sakuragi hard on his red head.

" But it was him who started it…" *Chibi Sakuragi cry*

Fifteen minutes of showdown between styles, power, creativity, and teamwork had passed. Rukawa and Mitsui scored graciously most of Japan's points; Mitsui, obviously hitting the hottest three-pointers and lay-ups while Rukawa showed up some beautiful dunks, creative lay-ups, smashing fade-away's, and many others. Sakuragi and Akagi reigned when it comes to defense and rebounds, showing that they are worthy being formerly called as " king and prince under the basket". Ryota amazed people with his superb passing and creative mind that resulted to their nice plays. Not only in passing and bearing a creative mind, he also astounded many by his grand talent of ripping (act of stealing the ball abruptly but clean from the opponent) and great speed.

Despite this, the Yornese are showing almost equal force and power of that of the Japanese players. The guy, Nob Voiji attempted to be equal with Ryota, and almost succeeded. Center, number 13, Qinz ( Can't think of any other name…^^) Gee stole a few rebounds from Akagi and Sakuragi. Shooting guard, number 32, B. Part (er…), shot some lay-ups and three-pointers, but not as many as Mitsui's and Rukawa's. Small forward D. V. D (^^ ahem…I'm actually watching one now…), number 16, showed some reckless, but hasty and nice movements. Power forward T. Hox ( o.O what a name…) showed some skill in rebounding and defense.

Right now, the Yornese coach called his first time-out. Current score: 23-29. In favor of Japan.

" Everyone is showing good movements, and that's nice." Coach Anzai remarked, looking proudly at his team, who were releasing a few sweat and heavy breaths. " But remember that GOOD isn't enough…"

" BEST is enough!!!" Continued Sakuragi. Caoch Anzai laughed softly. " That's right." He said.

" Miyagi, be careful with their point guard. I sense that he's planning something." Coach Anzai warned.

" Uh…Yes. I will." Ryota replied.

The referee then whistled and said: " Time out over!!! Go back to your positions!"

" Yoshi! We'll increase our lead this first half!!!" Akagi exclaimed.

Mitsui, who was standing behind the sideline, passed the ball onto Ryota. Ryota started to dribble towards the goal, thinking of a tactic. 

" Pass!" Rukawa exclaimed, waving a hand in the air. Ryota quickly saw this and passed it onto Rukawa. But then, Nob hastily caught the ball in mid-air. Rukawa grunted a bit. After some quick moment, his face showed hope as he saw Ryota preparing to tap the ball from Nob's hands as soon as his feet touches the ground. 

Nob finally laid his feet firm on the ground, and Ryota successfully tapped the ball, and then passed it onto the waiting Rukawa who was now beside him. Rukawa dribbled swiftly to the restricted area, hoping to dunk the ball. But Qinz fly swatted the ball. Luckily, Mitsui caught it before it bounced off to the sideline and dribbled backwards to the three-point line, preparing yet another three point. He released the ball, causing everyone to pay close attention if it would be in or not.

* Go in…!* Mitsui thought. Unfortunately…

The ball bounced on the ring.  

Mitsui grumbled and mentally cursed himself for missing the shot. " Rebound!!!" He exclaimed.

" Leave it to me!!!" Sakuragi jumped swiftly and attempted to steal the rebound from Qinz, but instead, another hand shoved it, Akagi's. Akagi successfully caught the rebound and passed it onto Sakuragi. T. Hox defended him but he faked perfectly, completely deceiving T. Hox. He then passed the ball to Ryota, who finished it with a quick lay-up, astounding everyone since it was a result of a nice teamwork.

" Nice Ryota!!!!" Ayako shouted from her seat.

" Go Japan!!!" The guntai exclaimed.

" Honestly, I thought Rukawa would finish it. He changed a bit. He's more of a team player now." Sendoh remarked, smiling happily.

" The score's thirty-one now…" Mitsui said as he looked onto the scoreboard. 

~ Folks! You've just seen Japan's great teamwork! Miyagi Ryota with the plan, Rukawa Kaede with the (SUBARASHI!!!) act, Mitsui Hisashi saving the ball nearly escaping from the sideline, Akagi Takenori with the rebound, Sakuragi with the fake, and Miyagi Ryota once more with the smashing end!!!~ Hagaki (I) gleefully exclaimed.

~ But I gotta admit though, I thought that Mitsui would really smash the score into a thirty-two to twenty three.~ Minami said.

~ Well, even the best three-pointers miss some shots sometimes. Anyway! Here they come again! Yornese point guard Nob Voiji with the ball!!!~

Nob nearly had enough. He was so frustrated with the fact that Ryota was far greater than him. 

" Nob, cool down. That may result to you having a foul." D.V.D reminded.

* Foul…?* Nob thought. Then, a mischievous, dirty plan entered his mind.

He then dribbled the ball hastily towards the goal, and stopped right in front of Ryota, his back facing Ryota's front. He didn't dribble. He was just like that for the past ten seconds.

" What is he doing?" Ayako asked, eyeing the scene closely.

" Looks like he's going on for a bad plan." Coach Anzai said, his eyes hid under the gleam of his eyeglasses.

" What...plan?" Asked Ayako.

" Look's like he's planning to knock Ryota down so that the chance of our team in winning would decrease. I have to admit that Ryota played a big role in creating a lead of eight points against this powerful team. It's such a tricky, dirty plan…" Akane said, looking dead serious.

" That's…" Ayako was speechless. That shouldn't happen. Before she could even turn her head, she heard the referee whistle. 

" Intentional foul! White, number 24!!!" hollered the referee.

" Ryota!!!"

" Miyagi-san!!!"  
Ayako slowly turned her head, preparing for he worst. She then saw Ryota, body and head down on the floor. Akagi and the others, with the referee, surround him.

Ayako quickly grabbed the medical kit, along with Akane.

" Referee time!!!" The referee exclaimed. 

" Ryota!!!" Ayako knelt down beside him, turning him over. His left eye was bleeding badly and he was also unconscious. " Ryota!!!" She nearly cried.

" Oh heck! What happened?" Takamiya asked, looking over the railing.

" That impudent guy did that on purpose." Youhei said. " What a dirty thing to do."

" Did what? It was so fast, I didn't even had the chance to see it!" Said Takamiya.

" That Nob guy hit Miyagi on the eye by the elbow, since he wanted Miyagi to be benched and decrease our team's chances of wining." Sendoh explained, his eyebrows furiously meeting on the middle of his head. " What a shame. He's got the talent but he's a menace, a dirty player. No-he doesn't even deserve the title of 'player'."

" Is he still alive?" Sakuragi asked. Akagi punched him on the head.

" Of co-"

" Of course he is!!!" Ayako interrupted, her tears finally flowed to her cheek. 

" Um…I'm sorry…" Sakuragi apologized. " I mean…hey guys! Let's help in bringing him to the clinic!" Everyone nodded as they carefully lifted Ryota from the ground, onto the stretcher that was brought in by the medics of the clinic.

~ Folks, what an unbelievable thing that the point guard, Nob Voiji, did!!! We sure hope that the injury is not that bad…~ Minami reported. * Hagaki burns madly, shouting (gladly not on the mike^^) : " How dare you, impudent sucker!!!!"*

" Masaki-san. Please warm up and replace him." Coach Anzai instructed.

" Uh…Yes sir." Masaki then took off his T-shirt, revealing his number six jersey underneath. As he went to the corner to warm up, he was thinking very hard. _How the hell could I replace him? I admit, I am also good, since I've experienced this over and over again. But Miyagi is greater than me…I mean…I may have a creative mind but I suck a bit on passing, ripping, stealing. Unlike him…Oh God…help me…_

" Will he be alright? " Sakuragi asked as they left the clinic.

" Ayako's there, along with the medics. I'm sure he'll be." assured Mitsui.

" Well, we should fill up the gap he left." Akagi said.

" I can." Rukawa said. Akagi then looked back at him. He then saw Rukawa's eyes burning for victory.

" No, Rukawa. You can have your showdown in the second half. You need to reserve your stamina." Akagi said.

" Fine." Rukawa replied.

" Nyaha! Leave it to the tensai!!!"

" No Sakuragi, you just concentrate on getting the rebounds." said Akagi.

" Gori!!!"

" I second the motion since we really can't depend on you when it comes to offense!" Mitsui said.

" Mit-chin!!!"

The referee then whistled as the signal for the game to start again. Only 16 minutes to go before half time. Would Masaki successfully fill the gap Ryota left? Would Ryota recover fast? 

Watch out for the next episode…er…chapter of…TO OUR DREAMS!!!!

Author's note:

Hagaki: Well, the ending's kinda like those ones in the drama blah blah, or like the ones in "THE MASKED RIDER…"

Minami: Stupid cat!

Hagaki: URUSE!!!! Oh, by the way…I already miss our hair…

Minami: Eh?

Hagaki: We had our SHORTEST haircut, didn't we? Before we had it up to our waists, the now, it's only five inches below the shoulders!!! *SOB* 

Minami: Yeah…

Hagaki: ANYWAY!!!! There ya have it!!!! Chappy 15!!!! Oh, by the way, for all those MitKo fans out there, I already posted my firat Yaoi ( Obviously MitKo), entitle "POWER OF TWO". Actually, the original plan was to make it a one shot, but I created a sequel to it, entitled " LIBERATE ME". Oh please, read that fic and review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Both: JA NE!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	17. I WILL PLAY!

Author's note:

Hagaki: CHAPPY SIXTEEN! CHAPPY SIXTEEN!

Minami: Minna-san! Here's chappy sixteen!

Hagaki: Yeah, and hope you guys like this!!!

Minami: Happy reading!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: Slam Dunk is the property of the cutie guy namely Takehiko Inoue!!!!!!!!!!!! ^^ 

-

**Chapter 16: I WILL PLAY!**

****

****

-

~ And now! Kaede Rukawa putting up a good defense against T. Hox! But then..AH!!! T. Hox passes perfectly to D.V.D and…and ends it in a fantastic three pointer!!!!! And that closes the score into 31-26, still in favor of the Japan team!~

Rukawa groaned, wiping the sweat forming on his chin.

" They're catching us." Mitsui panted as he fixed his knee band.

" Don't mind." Rukawa said before running towards the goal to prepare for their offense.

" Hey, I know that line." Mitsui said, straightening his back after successfully fixing his knee band.

" So do I." Akagi remarked. 

" What does that mean?" Masaki asked inquisitively, eyeing the two laughing a bit. 

" Don't mind! Just keep on passing the ball to me and everything would be alright!" The two said in unison, imitating ( but didn't succeed) Rukawa's voice.

MAsaki blinked twice. " Ah! So that's it!" He laughed softly along with the two. " I've been with him for quite a while now, but I didn't know that?"

" It's not surprising since he doesn't talk often." Mitsui said.

" Okay, we'd better go now. Iku!" Akagi exclaimed.

" Aa!"

Masaki started to dribble the ball towards the goal. * I need to play with the best that I can give to somehow fill the gap Miyagi left.* he thought to himself. He then saw the impatient Rukawa, whose eyes were burning like crazy, obviously telling him one thing….PASS!!!!

* Wait, you impatient kid.* He replied by a look that said the whole sentence. He faked on passing it to Akagi, then quickly passed it onto the heating Rukawa, who charged his way uncontrollably on the court. He succeeds in widening the gap again with a sugoi finale showy lay up, super cutie, Sendoh-eye-catching (^.^;), suicidal gorgeous unbelievable super mega shot! ( Hagaki: hekhekhek!!!)

" Woa! Great!" Sendoh commented, actually "PRAISED" Rukawa from the great…( minami claps Hagaki's mouth) lay up he displayed just a few moments ago. " I knew he'd do that! That's Kae-chan!"

" You know him pretty well, do you, Aki-chan?" Keiji said.

" Sort of." the spiky hunk replied proudly. (^^)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Intense pain engulfed Ryota as he limply opened his right eye, looking around at the place, stopping, and then mused at the white ceiling of the clinic. He felt that there was something that blocked his left eye. Reaching it and feeling that it was bandaged, he moaned ponderously in despair. Great...just great…I'm injured…

He tried to move his left hand, but then he felt that another held it. He didn't protest any further, since the hard grip on his hand meant a lot to him. It was _her._ From warm, her felt something cold drip onto his hands.

_Tears._

" Ryota?" Came the first word he heard from the past minutes of his slumber.

" Aya….chan…"

Ryota straightened his back as he tried to get up, but before he could, Ayako gathered him in her arms, tears of unexplainable joy flowing from her eyes.

" I'm so glad you're alright…I was so worried…" she said in between soft sobs.

" Sorry, I worried you." He replied as he embraced her back. ( Hagaki: EEK! Both of you sit up first!!!!! Minami: Bonk! green minded!!! )

" Hump! What would happen top your promise marriage if that injury was serious?"  She grumpily said, still embracing him.

Ryota laughed. " Well, you know I didn't want this to happen." he replied. " But don't worry, I'm okay now."

He then sees doctors and medics smile at them, quite - no - totally loving this dramatic scene before them ( considering that they're hugging each other while the other lies on the bed!) His cheeks flushed gradually as he carefully broke the embrace, ( finally) shifting his position to a sitting one.

" By the way, what happened to the game?" He asked as Ayako timidly wiped her tears.

" Uhm…well…you see…I was here since you collapsed so I didn't have the chance to even have a peek at what was going on, so--"

" I will play." He cut her sentence off, his face showed utter determination. Ayako looked at him with a questioning look, the one that showed the question * what was that?*

**" I WILL PLAY."** Ryota repeated. He stood from his bed and tried to walk away, but Ayako and the other medics stopped him.

" No sir! Under your condition, you can't!!!" A Japanese medic exclaimed, pushing him back.

" I'm alright! Let me play!!!" He protested, trying to free himself from the doctor's tight grip.

" Ryota!!!" Ayako called out, tugging his arm to stop him.

" I only impaired a vision on my left eye, but this is nothing. I'm alrught now so LET ME PLAY!!!!"

The second half finally started. In the first two minutes, the Yornese took the score by 33-30 ( four points brought about by a lay-up and a not-so-good-for-Japan slam dunk. Masaki dribbled the ball towards the goal furiously and nearly succeeded a lay up, but it was snatched by DVD and threw a baseball pass towards Nob Voiji, Who almost succeeded a jump shot.

Akagi fly swatted it before it could even touch the ring, shouting: "You're dreaming!!!!!!"

" The flyswatt!!!!!!!" The benchwarmers shouted, waving their hands victoriously on the air.

" That's my brother!!!!!!!" Haruko exclaimed happily from her seat.

" Hehe..that's Mito-san's soon-to-be brother-in-law!!!!" Sendoh remarked as he smiled mischievously.

" Se-sendoh-san!!!!!" Youhei exclaimed, turning super kadooper reddy. (^^)

" Yeah! That's right!" The guntai exclaimed in unison.

Haruko: blush blush

" AAH! That's…!"

Everyone on the court was shocked when finally, the great pointguard Ryota Miyagi appeared on the court, walking as normal as possible. Ayako trailed behind him.

" RYOCHIN!!!" Sakuragi exclaimed, looking absolutely stunned from the sudden appearance of their team mate whose condition looked really serious a while ago. Coach Anzai, too, as a bit stunned as Ryota went near him, eyes burning for hope.

" But, Miyagi-kun…your injury…" Akane said out softly, standing from her seat.

" I'm alright." He replied back, silencing her by motioning her to sit down.

" Uhm..demo…" 

" Anzai-sensei." Ryota started, Ignoring Akane. " Coach, please let me play." Coach Anzai stared at him for quite a while from head to toe.

" Are you sure you're alright, Miyagi-kun?" He asked, fixing his glasses that allowed the light to glimmer through the frame.

" Never felt better, coach." He replied. ( actually, he was secretly holding Ayako's hand at his back, and he tightened his grip as he replied to lil'o 'jisaan. ^____^ Kawaii desu ne?)

Everyone eyed coach Anzai as he called for a substitution on the referre's table.

" Seriously?!?!?!" Akagi exclaimed.

" Red! Number six!!!" Mikatsu heaved a heavy sigh of what sounded like a crossover between relief and disbelief as he ran towards the baseline, clapping Ryota's hand with his.

" Miyagi-kun, are you really OK?"  he asked before taking his seat on the bench.

" Well, what's the use of my other eye?" Ryota replied before stepping inside the court. Masaki gave him a wide grin as he was handed with a towel.

" I just hope he means what his facial expression says." Masaki prayed, wiping his face.

" Hey guys!" Ryota called out as he entered the court.

" Are you really gonna play? " Mitsui asked.

" Ryochin! Don't push yourself too much!!!!"  Sakuragi patted Ryota's back heavily.

" How many times must I tell you guys that I AM ALL RIGHT?!?!" He said aloud, emphasizing every syllable of his sentence.

" Well then, get ready for both defenses and offenses. Miyagi, remember that you ARE the play maker. Do your job well or you'd be benched." Akagi said, patting Ryota's shoulders.

" Ossu, captain." Ryota replied.Nob widened his eyes in shock. No way! He should be knocked out of the game totally a while ago! His blow should've put him into a deep and long sleep. ( no, certainly not DEATH…)

_He's back, the great pointguard…_

_This won't be easy_

Ryota looked onto the giant scoreboard. 33-30. He then altered his gaze onto the time board. It just turned to the fourth minute of the second half.

_This should be our showdown! That Nob guy should pay!_ he thought, charging for the offense.

~ min- er- folks! Miyagi Ryota came back on the play and he's FABULOUS! He doesn't even look like he had an injury!!! And…he passes onto Rukawa, Rukawa shoo--no! That was a fake!!! Passes onto Mitsui, dribbled, AND THREE POINTS!!!!! Great!!!~

As Ryota have said, the rest of the remaining time on the game between the Japanese and the Yornese had been the Jap showdown. Of course, this was made possible with everyone's marvelous plays. Whenever the gap closes, Shoho--er--the All-japan basketball team finds a way to widen it again.

The game finished with the referee's wistle. " Game over!" HE hollered, waving his hands in the air. " Seventy , sixty two. Japan won!"

" We won!!!!!" Haruko exclaimed happily, hugging Midori tightly.

" Yatta!!!" Both Sendoh's exclaimed.

" Sugoi!!!!!!" The guntai said in agreement.

" Nice job!!!!!!" Akane cried out from the bench.

Every person on the A.J.B.T ran towarss the first five amazing players and hugged them, patting their heads while at the same time, congratulating them for their first victory.

_At last, I've seen hose smiles I've wanted to take a gander at…._

Akane curved her lips into a wide beam. " Sou desu ne, Nobuhiro-san."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Almost three weeks had passed. The race team had one loss, but that didn't stop like that since the next games, they've swept all the gold. (in the one lose, Youhei got silver L)

As for the volleyball team, they've also lost one game L, but, similar to the race team, it didn't end sad for them. Instead, the won all the games after the incident where they lost. ( The Jap spirit, NEVER GIVE UP!!!)

The Japanese basketball team isn't losing so far. They've won all the games. But that STILL doesn't settle it, since tomorrow would be their final, and deciding game…

Everyone practiced hard, but not very hard to strain their selves too much. Mitsui finally developed some stamina that would keep him lasting on a game, Ryota's injury healed a lot (but he's still wearing bandages for extra protection), Sakuragi, believe it or not, can finally do long shots, to be exact, three pointers, and even hard shots like fade-away. Rukawa became utterly indestructible, and played like there was no tomorrow. Despite this, Coach Anzai once said to him that he finally surpassed Sendoh ( woa!!), since he's more of a team player now. Akagi improved on his plays, rebounds, flyswats, and many other more. On one game, whereas Mitsui collapsed 9 he always, though J), Kogure replaced him ( * . *) and he proved that when a megane's at the court, BEWARE! He isn't a national player for nothing, isn't he?

" AAH! What a fine day!!!" A little neko said aloud, stretching her little arms and legs. " Nee-chan, okiro!!! The final game of the A.J.B.T would be today, ne?"

Another one fluttered her eyes open. " Ah..sou…" she murmured before fully standing.

Just before they could walk towards the gym, they spotted a red head running towards their direction.

" Ah! Sakuragi-kun! Sakuragi-kun!!!!" 

" Hagaki-chan! And even Minami-chan!" Sakuragi exclaimed, jogging on his place.

" You're in a hurry, ne?" Hagaki asked.

" Of course! This is our last game!!!" He said, still jogging on his place.

" Why aren't you with the others?" Minami asked.

" I…woke up late..so you see…I missed the private bus…" The little neko's landed with a loud thud on the concrete floor.

" Anyway, I need to--" The redhead was cut short because a group of goons surrounded the three abruptly.

" Looks like trouble." Sakuragi murmured under his breath. " NANDA, OMAE TACHI?"

" Sakuragi-kun…ano…they're not Japanese…" Hagaki reminded the war freak redhead

Sakuragi: Sweat drop ***

" That's the consequence in not paying attention to your English teacher!!!!" Hagaki added.

" What do you guys want? We're in a hurry!!!" Minami exclaimed in English. The goons grunted and cracked their knuckles.

" Why are you the one asking? Is that giant guy behind you speechless? Or maybe that red head is really a chicken?" The goons laughed hard after the leader said this.

" He doesn't know straight English." Hagaki replied. The goons' sweat dropped.

" Tell him to fight like a man!"

" For what? You see, we're in a hurry, you dirty crook!!!!!!!" Hagaki answered back, raising her voice.

" Why you---!!!!"

" Matte!" Sakuragi called out.

" huh? Wha whazzat?" The leader stopped before laying a hand on me (oops, wrong POV)

" MATTE." Sakuragi repeated.

" Ah, so you're saying 'fight', isn't?"

Sakuragi didn't understand, so he didn't move.

" What? Are you chickening out? " The guy said again. He then imitated a chicken in front of Sakuragi.

Sakuragi, though he didn't understand the words, understood the act, and delivered a strong kick on the ass of the leader, sending him flying from the strong impact.

" Why you--!!!" The others gave Sakuragi jabs and kicks all over his body.

" Sakuragi-kun!!!!" Hagaki and Minami exclaimed. " We'll call for--"

Suddenly, someone appeared behind the two little neko's.

" Youhei-kun-tachi!!!!!" The two exclaimed. Youhei went near Sakuragi to give the ones who were punching and kicking him a strong jab on the cheek, sending them flat on their rears.

A little later, the other guntai members joined in, and with their raging fist of fury ( o.O huh?), hey shooed all the goons away.

" Youhei! Minna!!!!!!" Sakuragi called out.

" Don't forget, Hanamichi." Youhei said as he turned back to look at him after sending the last goon running home to his mommy's back, crying.

" We're still the SAKURAGI GUNTAI." The other three continued.

Sakuragi smiled as he was helped by his frinds to stand up. " Sankyuu ne, omae-tachi." he said, smirking broadly.

" Now you better go or you'd be late for your last game." Youhei reminded, fixing his collar.

" Aa." Sakuragi replied, running as fast as he could toward the bus stop nearby.

" Aren't you guys coming with him?" Hagaki asked the guntai.

" We will. Youhei's still waiting for Haruko-chan." Takamiya said.

" Haruko-chan? Doushite?"

" She forgot something at the hotel room so she went back to pick it up." Youhei explained

" And of course, Mr. Loverboy here is waiting for her!" Said Takamiya, nudging Youhei by the elbow.

" We met him on the way and HE dragged us along!" Ohkusu added, re-enacting the drag scene.

" And that's when we spotted Hanamichi and the both of you guys." Noma finished.

" Ah, sou…Dewa, Ja ne!"

" Huh? Why?" The guntai said in unison.

" We'll be going with Sakuragi-kun." The two replied. " if we want to go early, we'll take the same bus Sakuragi would be taking."

" Wait! We'll go too!!!" The three exclaimed.

" Bye guys!" Youhei waved as the five went out of sight.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N

Hagaki: There's chappy sixteen!!!!! Yahoo!!! Off to seventeen!!!!!

Minami; Please review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Both: that's all for now, see ya guys again at chapter seventeen! JA NE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	18. To Our Dreams

By the way, this is the last chappy, guys…*sniff* But there's a SEQUELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's some codes for this last chappie:

**_This is Rukawa's thought  
_**_this is Ryota's thought****_

**Mitsui's…**

**Akagi's…**

Sakuragi's…

**_and kogure's…_**

**__**

Get it? Whenever you see this sign -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+, it means that the codes count.  If ever not, they would loose their effect. To name one, if you see _THIS _while that sign is there, it's Ryota's thought. If not, then _this_ serves as a flashback sign.

Disclaimer: Slam Dunk is the property of the great Takehiko Inoue. We are just borrowing it.

****

** Final Chapter: To our dreams…**

**_ I open my eyes to the light through the window…and think_**

**__**

** This would be our last game…**

****

** A deciding game…whatever happens here**

**_ Would be the key to open whichever path…_**

**__**

_ Victory? Or defeat…_

 Would our sacrifices be in vain…or not?

**_ Whatever may happen is up to our play now…_**

**__**

** We'll give our best for sure….**

****

 **_We'll never lose…_**

**__**

 We'll play fair…

** We'll bag the golden trophies in our hearts**

_ And would cherish them forever._

 Everything lies on our hands, our minds, and our souls. May our hearts lead us to the path that we are worthy of…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

" Okay guys, we're here." Ayako hopped down the bus, fixing her dress. " * Sigh* the last game. This makes me nervous." 

" I do feel the same way though I experience this for a lot of times now." Akane said, following Ayako. " Well, the guys are ready. Let's go."

One by one, drowned in thoughts, excited by the pressure of the final game the team would be facing, they hopped down from the bus, their things hanging by the straps on their shoulders. They looked dead serious, and no one spoke a single word. Tension filled their minds as they went in the gym to the locker room, where they heard the first hollers of voices in it, cheering either them or the other team.

It was obvious that this team experiences this kind of pressure for the first time in their lives. The first five members, including the old-member Rukawa, felt their hearts crash onto their ribs in heavy patterns. It was just like yesterday when they were still playing for the pride of their school, and now, for the pride of the whole Japanese country. It was only like yesterday when they wore the red jersey with a big "SHOHOKU" read in it, and now, it read "JAPAN".  

The other team had arrived and the crowd cheered once more. Now it's time. They need to go out and greet the other team, Thriller, for a fair and nice deciding match. Who would win? Them or us? Only destiny knows.

 Minutes had passed and the seats were full of people who were of different kinds. Japanese supporters, Thriller supporters, friends or family of any of the players or other members of the team, anxious people, people who just passed by, or people who just want to watch some basketball action. Well, whoever and whatever they are, one thing is for sure. They'll be watching a fiery match for the crown bearing the fruits of sweat and tears, pain and struggles.

The referee finally blew his whistle, signaling the end of the agonizing waiting and the start of the moment-of-truth. Players listen and respond whenever they are introduced to the crowd. After these, they positioned onto their posts and checked their rightful opponents, whose eyes were gleaming, shouting for victory.

It seemed that time slowed down when the referee threw the ball in the air, and as the raging centers fight to reach for the ball. Everyone watched closely to find out who'd swat the ball and prove that he's the man. 

A loud sound of a hand slapping the ball echoed in the gym. The other center, IBM, an Akagi-look-alike, succeeded in getting the jump ball. Alas for him, before it could even reach the hands of his team mate, Sakuragi blocked it with his hand, ending the hard try of IBM into Japan's first score, result of Sakuragi's block, his baseball pass to Mitsui, and Mitsui stopping behind the three point line and tossing the ball to the hoop. The crowd grew wild on the first shot.

The next minutes flew like the wind, and to everyone's surprise, despite the fact that the Japanese scored the first one, the Thrillers ended up the first 15 minutes of the first half by having a 10 point lead over Japan. The current score was 30-20. Four points of the 30 was earned by two free throws via Sakuragi and Akagi's foul.

But the next five minutes weren't so bad for the Japanese team…or so they were. They were able to decrease the lead by a goal, but then Sakuragi got his second foul and Mitsui got his first. But with the support and the famous "Don't mind" line of the other members, they still had hope, and didn't treat the times when the referee would whistle loudly, shout out their number, and "FOUL!" as a big wall to their now raging plays. As they have said…this is just the FIRST HALF.

The referee blew his whistle and shouted: "FIRST HALF OVER!!!".

" Sakuragi, be careful. You have two fouls. We don't want to have another again. That goes for Mitsui and Akagi." Akane reminded, checking her flipchart once more.

" This is no ordinary team. For fifteen minutes they've been on a ten point lead." Ayako added.

" That's what makes it more exciting." Replied Mitsui after helping himself to some of the remaining water on his jug. 

" A game worthy to be called 'A match for the gold'". he added.

" I believe Rukawa sacrificed the first half again." Akane remarked, smiling happily. Rukawa responded with a what-else look on his eyes. 

" Thrillers defeated us last year, and he was really frustrated." Told Mikatsu to the other members like he was telling a story to little kids.

" Che." Was all that Rukawa could say as he turned his back on them, fixing his arm band.

" He's seeking revenge for the humiliation." Masaki said.

After minutes of the break, they stood from their benches and onto the court. The fiery fight launched again as the referee called for the jump ball.

But then, victory isn't always on our side…

Number 30 Jet Eightten scored a three pointer after breaking Sakuragi's defense. Of course, now, it's Japan's ball. But before Rukawa could shoot, number 18 Des KC stole it from him and displayed a good (but annoying for the Japanese) Alley hoop with IBM. Fire raged in our heroes minds as they rushed another score, but then it turned out to be Akagi's second foul.

Though the first five members of the All-Japan basketball team doesn't notice, they've been showing the same weaknesses that Coach Taoka had mentioned before.  Number one: Foul trouble.

It was hard for them but they've tried hard to catch up, minds covered with a fog of nervousness that blocked their great plays.

* DARN! What are we doing?!* Thought every single Japanese player on the court.

" AKAGI! SAKURAGI! MIYAGI! MITSUI! RUKAWA!" someone with a deep voice shouted from the crowd that caused the five to stop on their tracks.

" That's-!" Mitsui started as his eyes widened.

" Uozumi!!!" Akagi finished, exclaiming his former-rival's name loudly.

" Even Maki, Fujima, Jin, Fukuda, Nobunaga, Hanagata, Hasegawa…and…" Ryota exclaimed.

" Everyone that we fought, along with their old coaches!!!!!"  Hollered Sakuragi.

" What are you guys doing there?!" Uozumi shouted. " Remember, you're bagging the trophy for our COUNTRY!!!"

" Don't lose hope!!!" Maki exclaimed, standing from his seat.

" We're here to cheer for you so do your best guys!!!!" Nobunaga cried out.

The next thing they knew was that their former enemies were cheering for them, shouting "GO GO JAPAN!!!" Over and over again, along with their other countrymen. Smiles were instantly plastered upon the first five members faces.

(FIVE, SO INCLUDE KAE-CHAN)

" We'll never lose!!!!" They replied to them before going on for the offense, the cheers as their background.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

**_ That's right…our team wouldn't lose…_**

Of course, we'll never lose!

_ We wont stand being losers against this team! NEVER!_

**_ I wont let them humiliate me ever again!_**

** They don't qualify as a team that would stand as a wall against our victory!**

** Does this team know how many events it cost to build this team?**

Yes…how many events…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

_" I HATE BASKETBALL FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART! IT'S JUST A SHOOTING BALL GAME FOR KIDS!!!"_

_" Shooting ball game?! Why you-!!!!"_

_" Okay, you'd be practicing basics."_

_" Sakuragi! Where are you going?"_

_" I'm going home! I can't stand this place anymore!!!"_

_" Oh no! If Miyagi and Sakuragi would be together, it's like two nuclear bombs meeting!!!"_

_" Hanamichi!"_

_" Ryota!"_

_" LET'S GO!!!" _

_" I'm going to crush this basketball team!"_

_" National tournament! Championship! Isn't it that YOU were the one who created those dreams?! MITSUI!!!"_

_" You guys are now national players!"_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Al those events…

All those years it took us and now were here…

We won't be defeated!!!!

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Dribbling the ball with a changing pace style, Ryota looked out for some chances of scoring. Spotting Rukawa, he passed the ball onto him.  Rukawa faked in shooting and saw Mitsui running to his direction. he faked yet again onto passing to Mitsui. Instead, he did the unbelievable: Pass it to Sakuragi. But it didn't end there. Number 17, Pusle, was defending him very well under the basket. it was nearly the three second violation when he saw Akagi was free. With one swift pass to Akagi, he smiled. Akagi dunked it heavily on the hoop as the crowd went wild. The current score was 50-42.

Victory seemed to turn it's back on the thrillers as the A.J.B.T members displayed their best plays. They've reversed the score into an 80-83 within sixteen minutes of time. Only four minutes left. Sakuragi dunked the ball onto the hoop that made the score into an 80-85. It was a truly spectacular sight to see everyone cheer for them. Now, their mind fogged with nervousness was replaced with a mind full of hope and the thoughts of victory.

It seemed heaven for them until the Thrillers caught up with them. It was a close fight and there was only two minutes remaining.  But Mitsui brought Japan into the lead again by, believe it or not, a dunk that pissed the Thrillers off.

" WA!!! MITCHIN DUNKED!!!!" The guntai exclaimed in unison.

" Unusual for a three-pointer, though." Sendoh Akira said.

" Well, there's nothing bad in it." Youhei remarked, grinning widely.

   
" Mitchin! Nice dunk!" Sakuragi exclaimed as he patted Mitsui's head.

" This is the first time I've seen you dunk!" Ryota exclaimed.

" Actually, I was going for a lay-up. But I thought that since this is the last game, I better show that I'm also good at dunkin'" Mitsui cheekily replied.

" Nice dunk MITSUI!!!" Kogure shouted from the bench.

" Ossu!"

But then, the Thrillers shot a three-pointer. But as the benchwarmers have said, "DON'T MIND!!!"

Later, there was only 9 seconds left, and the Thrillers were able to shoot a three pointer, plus two free throws because Sakuragi fouled Pusle while shooting the three pointer. As usual, he was reciting the " HAZUSE HAZUSE HAZUSE…OCHIRO OCHIRO OCHIRO…." ( Miss miss miss…fall fall fall….) Unfortunately, both went in, leaving the score into a crucial 88-87, considering that there was only less than ten seconds left.

" Oh no! I can't watch!" Haruko covered her eyes, preparing for the worst.

" They would do something, I know!!!" Youhei exclaimed.

" Their team is known for catching up in the last minute, leaving the other teams into an unexpected defeat." Maki said from his seat.

" I agree. So I know they won't loose." Uozumi added.

" They're worthy being a National team." Coach Taoka said.

Ryota has the ball and dribbled it swiftly towards the goal.

8..7..6..

He passed it onto Sakuragi that was double-teamed. The time pressured the red-head and spotted a gorilla-like figure underneath the basket. With one swift chest pass and a loud shout of "GORI!!!", the ball landed on the figure's hands.

5..4..

Alas, it wasn't Akagi. It was IBM who was under the basket. Haruko covered her eyes, Youhei wanted to scream, Sendoh was taken aback, the other players wanted to faint, their former enemies stood from their seats, Kogure dropped the towel he was holding.

  Sakuragi screamed on his mind mentally, remembering the same incident before…

_" Gori!!!" _

_He passed onto a tall guy under the basket, but it wasn't Akagi. It was Takasago of Kainan. Takasago was shocked, and so were Sakuragi and Akagi. The time ran out and they lost…a los that they would never forget for the rest of their lives…._

" We won't be defeated by the same mistake!!!" Ryota tapped the ball from IBM's hands and threw it onto Rukawa. Rukawa was free. He jumped to slam the ball into the hoop.

Just then, memories flashed onto the first five's minds…

_" Sakuragi Hanamichi! I'm the genius basketball man!!!"_

_" Kaede Rukawa, First year section ten. Even the gods cannot disturb my sleep."_

_" You fool! What do you mean by SHOOTING GAME?!"_

_" The greatest pointguard…Miyagi…Miyagi Ryota…"_

_" National Championship!!! Number one in Japan! Isn't it YOU were the one who created those dreams?!"_

_" I want…I still want to play basketball again…"_

_" This is how the game ends, Sakuragi…"_

_" Gorilla dunk two!!!"_

_" I am a senior. If we lose this game…this would be my last."_

_" I don't care if I break my leg or not! This is the chance I've got at last!"_

_" I'll beat Sendoh…"_

_" WE'RE STRONG!!!!!"_

With that, Rukawa went on for the Dunk of victory…To their dreams…

owari 5:52 pm,  April 5, 2003.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Author's note:

Hagaki: *Sob…* AT LAST!! IT'S Finished! At LAST!!!  
Minami: There's still the sequel…

Hagaki: Okay. So I'd like to thank everyone who supported us in writing this fic, rthose who reviewed, those who flamed us, those who loved our story and hated it, those who sacrificed their time to read this, to everyone! DOUMO ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU!!! HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN IN THE SEQUEL!!!!

The smile of victory is unbelievably true because it was the first smile, and then came the black wrapper gift that made us glance at the Excruciating past before we found ourselves sharing roller coaster experiences on this Drunken Christmas…

And Finally death…to him..

Fly away and drive today, shoot me a kiss, for as you practice, I watch and you win…

Koko Watashi wa de… your footstep number one. I will play…To our dreams…


	19. ANNOUNCEMENT!

And then…Rukawa went on for the dunk of victory…TO THEIR DREAMS…

…

Hagaki: OKAY, CUUUUT!!!!! * Claps hand as Rukawa released the hoop after dunkin'* Great job, minna!!! At last, we're finished!!!!

Everyone: Yatta!!!

Hagaki: But remember that we have our sequel…

Everyone: We know.

Minami: As many have wished * especially Jess-miranda*, there'll be lotsa yaoi there. 

Everyone: *Whisper whisper….*

Hagaki: Everyone who's reading this one, whaddya think? Should we post the sequel here or make it a separate fic? ….  I hope you'll read our three chapter long sequel…. it'll be full of fun, promise!!! We've been thinking of the sequel for days…. and when we finished the stories in our minds, we know that you'd like it.

Minami: So please decide. Should we post the sequel here, or not? Please review to tell us your opinions. The sequel will come only when reviews are submitted. So, as soon as we receive reviews, the sooner we will update. So, minna, Review now!!!

EVERYONE: Hope to see you guys again! Thanks for reading the announcement!!!!


	20. Oops!

Oops! If you're looking for the sequel, unfortunately you can't find it here. We decided to make it as a separate fic entitled **_'Heaven? or… Hell on Earth?'_** Chapter 1 is already up there. Chapter 2 is coming! Anyweiz, thanx to the ones who already reviewed on it! And as for the others, thanx for reading **_'To Our Dreams'_** till the end and still waiting for the sequel. Again, Sank yuu!!! Please read and review on our sequel!!! See ya all in **_'Heaven? or…Hell on Earth?'_**

**__**

- Minami Ishigami or Rave (co-author)-

Note: Sorry. Hagaki's quite busy with the sequel that's why I'm just the one who posted this note for you pips. Anyway, I really want to say sorry to all those who waited for the sequel to be posted here in 'To Our Dreams'. Gomen minna-san!!!


End file.
